Set 25 · Study 1 / 5

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burn the candle at both ends

idiom/bɜrn ðə ˈkændl ət boʊθ ɛndz/

to overwork oneself

If you keep burning the candle at both ends, you’ll burn out.

word origin — From a 1600s French expression — a candle burned at both ends melts twice as fast, like overworked energy.