proverb · Words worth keeping
All play and no work, Gives Tom a ragged shirt.
All play and no work, Gives Tom a ragged shirt.
Historical period not yet established
Understand the thought
Meaning in plain English
Pleasure that continually displaces necessary effort can leave a practical need unmet. Tom’s ragged shirt pictures the consequence of neglected work.
What the words are saying
The saying contrasts a life filled only with play with a missing ordinary provision. Its warning concerns imbalance: a worthwhile pleasure can become a problem when it repeatedly replaces a task someone could reasonably undertake. It can encourage making room for responsibilities without condemning recreation. The clothing image should not be treated as evidence that anyone in worn clothes has been idle. Resources and opportunities differ, so a useful application identifies the particular neglected commitment rather than blaming hardship in general.
Everyday example
Someone makes time for an agreed household task instead of repeatedly leaving it unfinished in favour of optional entertainment.
When to use it
Use it to discuss a specific imbalance between recreation and available responsibilities.
What it does not mean
Play and rest are valuable, and hardship does not prove neglect.
Agent-assisted editorial interpretation. This explains the words; it does not by itself verify their author or earliest origin.
Attribution & collection notes
- Author or tradition
- Traditional
Attribution: traditional - Country attributed
- Not established
A country attribution does not establish the earliest origin. - Historical period
- Historical period not yet established
No sufficiently supported historical placement has been established. Import and download dates are not treated as composition dates. - Recorded source
- A Dictionary of English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases
Entry 1256 · Play
A collection's publication date can be later than the words it records.
- Culture
- English