If you are comparing two people or things and you say that the first can't hold a candle to the second, you mean that the second is much better than the first. None of these teams can hold a candle to the sides led by Franz Beckenbauer in the early 70s. Newspapers, books and radio cannot hold a candle to television. Note: This expression suggests that the first person does not even deserve to hold a light to help the other person to see.