A Dictionary of Proverbs (Oxford Paperback Reference)

without riches, Fred.’ 2002 Washington Times 25 Apr. C10 (heading) The Man With the

Proverbial Word to the Wise. hints

word see also ACTIONS speak louder than words; an ENGLISHMAN’ word is his bond;
FINE words butter no parsnips; HARD words break no bones; one PICTURE is worth ten
thousand words; STICKS and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me; many
a TRUE word is spoken in jest.

All WORK and no play makes Jack a dull boy

1659 J. HOWELL Proverbs (English) 12 All work and no play, makes Jack a dull

boy. 1825 M. EDGEWORTH Harry &Lucy Concluded II. 155 All work and no play

makes Jack a dull boy. All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy. 1859 S. SMILES

Self-Help xi. ‘All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy’; but all play and no work

makes him something greatly worse. 1898 C. G. ROBERTSON Voces Academicae I. i. ‘Is

that why you give garden parties yourself, eh?.. all work and no play makes Jill a very

—’.. ‘Plain girl. She is that already.’ 1979 R. MUTCH Gemstone xi. ‘All work and no

play makes Jack a dull boy,’ he observed, pouring the champagne into a glass. 2001

Washington Post 4 Oct. C13 (Jeff MacNelly’s Shoe comic strip)’What about your

homework?’ ‘Later. All work and no Playstation makes Jack a dull boy.’ recreation;

work

WORK expands so as to fill the time available

Commonly known as ‘Parkinson’s Law’, after Professor C. Northcote Parkinson, who first
propounded it.

1955 C. N. PARKINSON in Economist 19 Nov. 635 It is a commonplace observation

that work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion. 1972 M. ARGYLE

Social Psychology of Work viii. ‘Parkinson’s Law’ is that ‘work expands so as to fill the

time available’. 1976 Scotsman 25 Nov. 14 Though there are fewer Bills than usual, MPs,

being well known as exemplars of Parkinson’s law, can be relied on to stretch their work

to fill all the time available and more. efficiency and inefficiency; work

It is not WORK that kills, but worry

1879 D. M. MULOCK Young Mrs. Jardine III. ix. Working..all day, writing..at

night.. Roderick had yet.. never spent a happier three months.. for it is not work that kills,