1. Home
2. Idioms
3. all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)

all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)

---

---

all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)

Working too much can be bad for one's health or can make one boring. Come out to the pub with us tonight! All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy. All work and no play isn't ideal, but I absolutely must finish this report tonight.

See also: all, and, dull, jack, play, work

all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)

Hard work without time for recreation is not good for one's health, as in If Harry keeps up that grueling schedule, he's headed for a breakdown-all work and no play isn't healthy . A proverb included in James Howell's collection of 1659, this phrase remains so familiar that it is often shortened, as in the example.

See also: all, and, dull, jack, play, work