not worth the candle
not worth it because of cost and effort
TRANSLATION
not worth the candle= die Sache lohnt sich nicht
STATISTICS
IN THE PRESS
"Even the most generous buy-back programme is NOT WORTH THE CANDLE if it is designed to draw attention away from situations such as stagnant financial results, a difficult business restructuring, aborted acquisitions or a decline in the profitability of key markets."
(Interactive Investor)
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"Worse, if countries focus more on regional or bilateral deals, they may start to feel that working through the WTO is simply NOT WORTH THE CANDLE."
(IATP Trade Observatory)
Did you
know?
not worth the candle
idiomatic phrase
- not worth the necessary effort, cost, or trouble
Merriam-Webster
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WORD ORIGIN
In the days before electricity, there was a time when candles were relatively expensive. For unprofitable activities that required light, it was then said that the task was "not worth the candle", meaning it failed to justify the cost of the candle.
The expression is often used in the form, "the game is not worth the candle". This is an apparent reference to playing cards for money and was translated from the 17th century French proverb "le jeu ne vaut pas la chandelle" which translates as "it will not quit cost".
Separately, the words "candle" and "worth" can be found in other common idioms:
- burn the candle at both ends = to work long and hard hours (see OWAD archive)
- can’t hold a candle to something/someone = when something/someone is not as good as someone or something else
- not worth a dime/not worth a fig/not worth a hill of beans = to have little or no value.
- my two cents worth = to modestly give your opinion
- worth their salt = if someone is worth their salt, they are good at their job
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SYNONYMS
it’s not worth it, it doesn’t pay, there’s no return/payback, it’s not worth the pain
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SMUGGLE OWAD into conversation, say something like:
"Our analysis of the region revealed that setting up an office there just WASN'T WORTH THE CANDLE."
