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• All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy
  All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

  A person who never takes time off from work becomes boring and bored.
• all work and no play (makes Jack a dull boy)
  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.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy

Cultural  

1. A person who never takes time off from work becomes boring and bored.

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

1. 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.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

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

Perpetual amusement-seeking: brings ennui, satiety, and disgust.—"All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy," is as true as that "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

From Practical Ethics by Hyde, William De Witt

He recognized the natural desire for innocent amusement, and the old axiom "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," had its full weight of meaning to him.

From The Mormons and the Theatre or The History of Theatricals in Utah by Lindsay, John S.

The familiar maxim, "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy," contains a vast amount of truth.

From The Young Man in Business by Bok, Edward William

All work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy, We were not made to be delving forever with tools in close rooms.

From Heart-Histories and Life-Pictures by Arthur, T. S. (Timothy Shay)

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, or, at least, that’s what I’ve always been taught to believe.”

From Dorothy's Triumph by Raymond, Evelyn

I just don't really feel like it at the moment because all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.

From New York Times ● Apr. 17, 2018

Why therefore did not the diggers make it a half-holiday on the old ground, that "all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy."

From The Eureka Stockade by Carboni, Raffaello

One ought always bear in mind the adage "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

From The Children of the World by Heyse, Paul

But "all work and no play, makes Jack a dull boy."

From Questionable Amusements and Worthy Substitutes by Judy, J. M.

All men need a holiday, for "all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy."

From Dramatic Reader for Lower Grades by Holbrook, Florence