--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Any phrase that suggests play is this…" description: "\"Any phrase that suggests play is this domain that's the opposite of work, or the thing that you do when you're done working, should trouble us. Because..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/ian-bogost-9716_domain_any-phrase-that-suggests-play-is-this-do_2051287.jpg" --- # Any phrase that suggests play is this domain that's the… ![“Any phrase that suggests play is this domain that's the opposite of work, or the thing that you do when you're done working, should trouble us. Because it means that play is always relegated to the exhaust of life. It's the thing that you do after you do the important stuff, it's what you do on…” quote by Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/ian-bogost-9716_domain_any-phrase-that-suggests-play-is-this-do_2051287.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/ian-bogost-9716_domain_any-phrase-that-suggests-play-is-this-do_2051287.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/807/ian-bogost-9716_domain_any-phrase-that-suggests-play-is-this-do_2051287.jpg) > “Any phrase that suggests play is this domain that's the opposite of work, or the thing that you do when you're done working, should trouble us. Because it means that play is always relegated to the exhaust of life. It's the thing that you do after you do the important stuff, it's what you do on your own time.” [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Play is treated as a secondary activity, only after essential work, limiting its value and integration into life. **In simple terms:** Play is seen as a leftover after work. Key Takeaway Recognize play as essential, not optional. Themes work play life balance culture values Mood reflective critical Type philosophical social commentary When to use this quote - education - workplace policies - personal scheduling - family routines Key Concepts Sociology of leisure cultural critique time use Questions to Reflect On - How does viewing play as secondary affect your daily choices? - What benefits could arise from integrating play into work? A Different Perspective Play may be essential for creativity and well‑being, not just leisure. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Playful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playful/) ## Related quotes > ['Play the right way' means play unselfishly, respect each other's achievements, play hard, fulfill your role](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gregg-popovich/play-the-right-way-means-play-unselfishly-respect-each-other-s/) [Gregg Popovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gregg-popovich/) > [“If Cosgrove means to play games, then so do I. I will marry him because I must, but I shall not be a lamb-…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzanne-enoch/if-cosgrove-means-to-play-games-then-so-do-i-i-will-marry-him-because/) [Suzanne Enoch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzanne-enoch/) > [Radio means you can play parts that aren't based on your looks or your age. It's a lot of fun. You can do tremendous…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anita-dobson/radio-means-you-can-play-parts-that-aren-t-based-on-your-looks-or/) [Anita Dobson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anita-dobson/) > [If you can't take both sides, it means you can only play yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stella-adler/if-you-can-t-take-both-sides-it-means-you-can-only-play-yourself/) [Stella Adler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stella-adler/) > [“By all means play the game of life, create new visions and have fun but do not identify yourself with your vision.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-dines/by-all-means-play-the-game-of-life-create-new-visions-and-have-fun/) [Christopher Dines](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-dines/) > [I think this dichotomy or opposition between work and play, between leisure and serious stuff, is definitely a bad way of thinking about the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-this-dichotomy-or-opposition-between-work-and-play-between/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [The playful perspective is not meant to turn your life into a game or a jungle gym. It's rather that the activity is looking…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/the-playful-perspective-is-not-meant-to-turn-your-life-into-a-game-or/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Normally we think of play as the opposite of work. Work is the thing you have to do, and then there's play, the thing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/normally-we-think-of-play-as-the-opposite-of-work-work-is-the-thing/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Play is this process of operating the world, of manipulating things. It's related to experimentation, and it's related to pleasure, but not defined by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/play-is-this-process-of-operating-the-world-of-manipulating-things-it/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [I think the most important thing to realize about play is that it's this thing that's in stuff, it's not in you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-the-most-important-thing-to-realize-about-play-is-that-it-s/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [The whole idea of play is in finding, acknowledging, and then working with the natural constraints and limitations that you find in the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/the-whole-idea-of-play-is-in-finding-acknowledging-and-then-working/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Play isn't you being clever, or finding a trick, or finding a way of covering over your own misery, or persuading someone to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a-trick-or-finding-a-way-of/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [I'm always trying to have a good time on set because that's when things happen. That's when you're playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sarandon/i-m-always-trying-to-have-a-good-time-on-set-because-that-s-when/) [Susan Sarandon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sarandon/) > [The American people are incredibly generous and even playful when you open yourself up and feed the media beast until it goes away satisfied.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/krystal-ball/the-american-people-are-incredibly-generous-and-even-playful-when-you/) [Krystal Ball](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/krystal-ball/) > [My preference is for people who come to rehearsal and get into the ring. I like a muscular actor who's playful.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-mantello/my-preference-is-for-people-who-come-to-rehearsal-and-get-into-the/) [Joe Mantello](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-mantello/) ## More by Ian Bogost > [I think the most important way to understand play is that it's this property that's in things. Like there's play in a mechanism. For…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-the-most-important-way-to-understand-play-is-that-it-s-this/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Once you get yourself on that path where you're willing to find something delightful in laundry and in dishwashers, it means that you train…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/once-you-get-yourself-on-that-path-where-you-re-willing-to-find/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Our ideas of happiness, gratification, contentment, satisfaction, all demand that those feelings come from within us. If you flip that on its head and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/our-ideas-of-happiness-gratification-contentment-satisfaction-all/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [When we use this word fun, it sort of bangs up the ordinary and the extraordinary altogether.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/when-we-use-this-word-fun-it-sort-of-bangs-up-the-ordinary-and-the/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [We think we want enjoyment, and that enjoyment is incompatible with work, and somehow we have to import the pleasure into these miserable experiences.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/we-think-we-want-enjoyment-and-that-enjoyment-is-incompatible-with/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [You can experience play at work, not because you're messing around or wasting time or something, but because you're looking really deeply and seriously…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/you-can-experience-play-at-work-not-because-you-re-messing-around-or/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Actually a lot of the supposedly serious and meaningful and worthwhile content on the podcast or on the television is no more or less…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/actually-a-lot-of-the-supposedly-serious-and-meaningful-and/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [I think a lot of the misery that people experience comes from that sensation of boundlessness, of infinite possibility.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/i-think-a-lot-of-the-misery-that-people-experience-comes-from-that/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [There's just an enormous vast universe of possible intrigue out there and why not pay attention to it? Because then you're not burdened with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/there-s-just-an-enormous-vast-universe-of-possible-intrigue-out-there/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Generally speaking, when people use the word fun, it's like a placeholder. You know, "How was your evening?" "Oh it was fun."](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/generally-speaking-when-people-use-the-word-fun-it-s-like-a/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Wouldn't we all rather have the possibility of finding pleasure and delight in literally anything we might encounter? Instead of assuming that actually there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/wouldn-t-we-all-rather-have-the-possibility-of-finding-pleasure-and/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Fun has to do with habitual activities but then also terrifically novel or unusual ones. It works as a sort of strange milkshake of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/fun-has-to-do-with-habitual-activities-but-then-also-terrifically/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [“Irony keeps reality at a distance. It has become our primary method for combatting the external world’s incompatibility with our own desires. Today’s irony…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/irony-keeps-reality-at-a-distance-it-has-become-our-primary-method/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [Play isn't you being clever, or finding a trick, or finding a way of covering over your own misery, or persuading someone to do…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/play-isn-t-you-being-clever-or-finding-a-trick-or-finding-a-way-of/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) > [To me, being able to find gratification in more venues, rather than greater gratification in a few, seems like a much more sane way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-bogost/to-me-being-able-to-find-gratification-in-more-venues-rather-than/) [Ian Bogost](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) [Explore all 70 Ian Bogost quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-bogost/) ## More Domain quotes > [Limit use of shareware and public domain software to systems without fixed disks. If you do use them on fixed disks, allocate separate subdirectories...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-mcafee/limit-use-of-shareware-and-public-domain-software-to-systems-without/) [John McAfee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-mcafee/) > [When people are suicidal, their thinking is paralyzed, their options appear spare or nonexistent, their mood is despairing, and hopelessness permeates their entire mental…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kay-redfield-jamison/when-people-are-suicidal-their-thinking-is-paralyzed-their-options/) [Kay Redfield Jamison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kay-redfield-jamison/) > [I'm saying that the domain of poetry includes both oral & written forms, that poetry goes back to a pre-literate situation & would survive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jerome-rothenberg/i-m-saying-that-the-domain-of-poetry-includes-both-oral-written-forms/) Jerome Rothenberg > [An academic discipline, or any other semiotic domain, for that matter, is not primarily content, in the sense of facts and principles. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-paul-gee/an-academic-discipline-or-any-other-semiotic-domain-for-that-matter/) [James Paul Gee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-paul-gee/) > [What 'eminent domain' laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/what-eminent-domain-laws-mean-in-practice-is-that-politicians-have-a/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [I think fiction allows you to inhabit new domains and it's you, the reader living in that domain for a few days that results…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mohsin-hamid/i-think-fiction-allows-you-to-inhabit-new-domains-and-it-s-you-the/) [Mohsin Hamid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mohsin-hamid/) > [I do not actually see how art, literature can be anything other that being in that domain of trying to tell us, trying to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chinua-achebe/i-do-not-actually-see-how-art-literature-can-be-anything-other-that/) [Chinua Achebe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chinua-achebe/) > [I didn't say wonderful, I say eminent domain is something you need Chris. Eminent domain - if I build a highway - go ahead.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/i-didn-t-say-wonderful-i-say-eminent-domain-is-something-you-need/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [Cliché activates the comfortable mental laziness, we sort of revert to the domain of the already-familiar, what we have already imagined so that it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aleksandar-hemon/clich-activates-the-comfortable-mental-laziness-we-sort-of-revert-to/) [Aleksandar Hemon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aleksandar-hemon/) > [With cooking, there's always the tangible and the intangible: that which is in the domain of sentiment, of the individual.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alain-ducasse/with-cooking-there-s-always-the-tangible-and-the-intangible-that/) [Alain Ducasse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alain-ducasse/) > [I also like the whole idea of fairy tales and folk tales being a woman's domain, considered a lesser domain at the time they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-hoffman/i-also-like-the-whole-idea-of-fairy-tales-and-folk-tales-being-a/) [Alice Hoffman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-hoffman/) > [In the domain of cops and robbers, an interdiction serves to structure a black market and a shadow economy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-irwin-thompson/in-the-domain-of-cops-and-robbers-an-interdiction-serves-to-structure/) [William Irwin Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-irwin-thompson/) > [On the contrary, the characteristic element of the present situation is that economic questions have finally and irrevocably invaded the domain of public life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-henderson/on-the-contrary-the-characteristic-element-of-the-present-situation/) [Arthur Henderson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-henderson/) > [I don't think I have committed a crime outside the domain of the US.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/i-don-t-think-i-have-committed-a-crime-outside-the-domain-of-the-us/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [A good zoo," Stella said, "is a large domain. A wild cage. A safe place to be. It has room to roam and humans…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katherine-applegate/a-good-zoo-stella-said-is-a-large-domain-a-wild-cage-a-safe-place-to/) [Katherine Applegate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katherine-applegate/) [Browse all 529 Domain quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Any phrase that suggests play is this domain that's the opposite of work, or the thing that you do when you're done working, should trouble us. Because it means that play is always relegated to the exhaust of life. 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