1868. Reade and Boucicault, Foul Play, p. 65. But you see, sir, he has got the ear of the merchant ashore; and so I am obliged to hold a candle to the devil.
To hold a candle to, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To vie with; to be comparable to; also to assist in or condone.
1886. R. L. Stevenson, Kidnapped, p. 79. They had killed poor Ransome; and was I to hold the candle to another murder?
To hold (or hang) on by the eyelids, eyelashes or eyebrows, verb. phr. (common).—To pursue an object desperately; to insist upon a point; to carry on a forlorn hope. See also quot. and Splash Board.
1883. Clark Russell, Sailor’s Language, p. 69. Holding on with his eyelids. Said of a man aloft with nothing much to lay hold of.
To hold in hand, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To amuse; to possess the attention or the mind; to have in one’s pocket.
To hold the market, verb. phr. (colloquial).—To buy stock and hold it to so large an extent that the price cannot decline.
Do you hold? phr. (streets).—Have you money to lend? Can you stand treat? Cf. verb., sense 1. [[332]]
Hold your horses, phr. (American).—Go easy; don’t get excited: a general injunction to calm in act and speech.
Hold your jaw, phr. (colloquial).—Hold your tongue; stow your gab (q.v.).