nonce-wd. [f. prec.]
† 1. To candle over: to cover with the material of candles. Obs.
1676. Marvell, Mr. Smirke, 16. Is it the Taeda, in which they candled a Man over in Wax, and he, instead of the wick, burnt out to his lives end like a Taper, to give light to the Company?
2. To test by allowing the light of a candle to shine through.
1879. Daily News, 28 Aug., 3/7. Letters … ‘candled,’ like suspicious eggs, to detect whether more than one sheet was covered by the enclosure. Ibid. (1883), 1 Aug., 5/2. An old-fashioned post-office, with clerks ‘candling’ the letters as if they were doubtful eggs.
