"BURNING THE CANDLE AT BOTH ENDS"

During Elizabethan times a certain substance was used in making candles. When it burned it gave off a foul odor. This thin candle was sometimes placed sideways behind the main candle in a specially designed candle holder. This horizontal candle would burn at both ends, giving off more light than was necessary considering the bad smell that filled the room as a consequence. The expression is now used to mean overdoing something with a negative result.