Was the phrase “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” created by Stanley Kubrick for The Shining? I’ve heard it everywhere (a few minutes ago I heard it on an episode of Ed, Edd, and Eddie) and always think that they’re referring back to The Shining because that’s where I originally heard it. Did it used to be an obscure phrase suddenly brought back into light by a movie?
The expression predates The Shining. I remember it as far back as the 1950s.
I couldn’t find anything on its origin, although I did find it listed on a page of Russian proverbs. I also found that there are a surprising number of websites that seem to consist of nothing but that phrase, repeated many times (as per Nicholsan’s “novel” in the movie).
From the Oxord Dictionary of English Proverbs:
All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy dates from 1670 in usage. From 1859 Smiles: “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy; but all play and no work makes him something greatly worse.”
Hmm – would that something be “a doper”, by any chance? 