can't hold a candle to
to not be as good as the person or thing mentioned:
Her latest book is readable enough, but it can't hold a candle to her earlier work.
Thesaurus: synonyms and related words
Worse and worst
- aggravating
- aggravation
- at worst idiom
- be in a different league idiom
- below/under par idiom
- compare
- dark
- half
- hold
- match
- not the same idiom
- pale imitation
- pale in comparison idiom
- rub
- rub salt in/into the wound idiom
- touch
- worse
- worse off
- worst
- worst-case
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