burn the candle
Work both ends
Burn the candle at both ends means to exhaust yourself by working too hard or staying up too late while rising early—depleting energy from two directions at once.
The image is of a candle that won't last long if lit from both ends simultaneously: She's been burning the candle at both ends trying to finish her thesis while working full-time.
- wickFuel-drawing cord
- flameBurning gas made visible
- waxPliable waterproof substance
- midnightTwelve o'clock at night
- late nightTime near midnight
night owl · exhaustion · overwork · tiredness · no rest · both ends · dripping · glow · fatigue · dead tired · worn out · melt · flicker · late nights · smoke · spent · stretched thin · work life balance
- workjob, 9 to 5, jobs, labor, employee
- fire idiomsplay with fire, fight fire with fire, fan the flames, add fuel to fire, on fire
- burnoutburnout, emotional exhaustion, exhaustion, exhausted, overwork
- folk sayingsproverb, adage, maxim, folk saying, old saying
- risk phrasestake a chance, take a gamble, risk it all, go for broke, roll the dice
- work ethicdiligence, hard worker, industriousness, go-getter, hard work