# Help with a famous quote.

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703>\
**Category:** Factual Questions\
**Created:** [November 26, 2000, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703 "2000-11-26T00:14:55Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 6\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Enore\_Tsotset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2bfe46/32.png) [@Enore\_Tsotset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enore_Tsotset)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 12:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703/1 "2000-11-26T00:14:55Z")

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I need to know who made the quote “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy”…

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**Author:** ![Dr\_Paprika](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dr_paprika/32/3042_2.png) [@Dr\_Paprika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dr_Paprika)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703/2 "2000-11-26T00:55:14Z")

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Sorry, can’t help you. I suspect it is a very old quote of unknown origin. But I’m curious as why you **need** to know this. It’s hard to include in a thesis.

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**Author:** ![bcullman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bcullman/32/8207_2.png) [@bcullman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bcullman)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703/3 "2000-11-26T01:09:52Z")

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Wasn’t it first in the movie “The Shining”?

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**Author:** ![aesop](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f8ce5/32.png) [@aesop](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/aesop)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703/4 "2000-11-26T01:20:04Z")

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According to Bartlett’s, it was James Howell (c. 1594 - 1666) in a work titled _Proverbs_, though there are historical antecedents in Ptahhotpe, Herodotus, and Cervantes.

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**Author:** ![Enore\_Tsotset](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/2bfe46/32.png) [@Enore\_Tsotset](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Enore_Tsotset)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703/5 "2000-11-26T01:21:03Z")

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It’s actually something my little brother is doing for a Freshman english class. It’s an extra credit thing…

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**Author:** ![samclem](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a9a28c/32.png) [@samclem](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/samclem)\
**Post date:** [November 26, 2000, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-with-a-famous-quote/42703/6 "2000-11-26T01:28:25Z")

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Now you know what to get your little brother for Christmas.🙂