proverb · Words worth keeping
It's poor sport that is not worth the candle.
It's poor sport that is not worth the candle.
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
An activity may offer too little enjoyment or benefit to justify the effort and resources it requires. The candle image asks whether the occasion is worthwhile, without giving pleasure a single price or measure.
Example
Friends abandon a complicated journey for a brief game session and choose a nearby place where they can spend more of the evening together.
Deeper explanation and when to use it
The sport is the activity or diversion, while the candle represents something used up in making it possible. If the occasion is poor enough, even that supporting resource seems too much to give for it. Figuratively, the proverb compares a result with the cost of pursuing it, including time, inconvenience or materials as well as money. The judgement is contextual: people may value the same activity differently, and an inexpensive outcome can still be meaningful. Its useful question is whether this particular arrangement offers enough for those involved, rather than whether every pastime must produce a measurable return.
When to use it
Use it when the effort of arranging an activity threatens to outweigh what people enjoy about it.
Keep in mind
Worth is personal and contextual; enjoyment need not produce a measurable or financial return.
An interpretation of the words, not a claim about their earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Date unknown
- Culture
- English