game is not worth the candle, the

The undertaking does not warrant the time, effort, or expense involved. This expression originally was a translation of the French essayist Montaigne’s statement, “Le jeu ne vault pas la chandelle” (1580), and found its way into John Ray’s proverb collection of 1678. In the days of candlelight illumination, it literally meant that the card game being played was not worth the cost of the candles used to light the proceedings. It soon was transferred to any undertaking and so persisted through the centuries.