--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: When you’ve lost all your play, guess…" description: "\"When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes. Work. Work that gets harder every hour.\" — Martin Amis" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/martin-amis-704_harder_when-you-ve-lost-all-your-play-guess-wha_2163834.jpg" --- # When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes… ![“When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes. Work. Work that gets harder every hour.” quote by Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/martin-amis-704_harder_when-you-ve-lost-all-your-play-guess-wha_2163834.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/martin-amis-704_harder_when-you-ve-lost-all-your-play-guess-wha_2163834.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/da4/martin-amis-704_harder_when-you-ve-lost-all-your-play-guess-wha_2163834.jpg) > “When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes. Work. Work that gets harder every hour.” [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. When play is gone, love turns into relentless work that becomes increasingly demanding over time. **In simple terms:** Love becomes hard work without play. Key Takeaway Balance work and leisure to sustain love. Themes love work balance exhaustion Mood melancholic thoughtful Type literary philosophical When to use this quote - marriage - creative projects - personal growth Key Concepts meaning purpose sustainability Questions to Reflect On - How can play be integrated into work? - What sustains love beyond effort? A Different Perspective The view may be cynical, ignoring joy in work. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Work](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/work/) ## Related quotes > [I took my play very seriously, and I got way, way lost in my play world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-keaton/i-took-my-play-very-seriously-and-i-got-way-way-lost-in-my-play-world/) [Michael Keaton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-keaton/) > [The beauty of acting is you just get lost in it. You play the character, and you hope that it works.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-zahn/the-beauty-of-acting-is-you-just-get-lost-in-it-you-play-the/) [Steve Zahn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-zahn/) > [I like to work. It gets boring sitting around.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cyd-charisse/i-like-to-work-it-gets-boring-sitting-around/) [Cyd Charisse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cyd-charisse/) > [I've got a great life. It's a shame the work gets in the way of the golf, really.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/len-goodman/i-ve-got-a-great-life-it-s-a-shame-the-work-gets-in-the-way-of-the/) [Len Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/len-goodman/) > [Work - get paid; don't work - don't get paid. Everybody is on commission, .. Try not coming to work for six weeks. Work…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dave-ramsey/work-get-paid-don-t-work-don-t-get-paid-everybody-is-on-commission/) [Dave Ramsey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dave-ramsey/) > [“I water my driveway, and I drive a hard bargain to work (it gets great gas mileage).”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jarod-kintz/i-water-my-driveway-and-i-drive-a-hard-bargain-to-work-it-gets-great/) [Jarod Kintz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jarod-kintz/) > [“Work often gets in the way of more important things, like writing.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-west/work-often-gets-in-the-way-of-more-important-things-like-writing/) Paul West > [The less I say the more my work gets done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elton-john/the-less-i-say-the-more-my-work-gets-done/) [Elton John](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elton-john/) > [Serious work gets done ... in congenial surroundings, which tend to make you laugh.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ian-mcdiarmid/serious-work-gets-done-in-congenial-surroundings-which-tend-to-make/) [Ian McDiarmid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ian-mcdiarmid/) > [My mantra is simple: work gets you work, and good work gets you good work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yami-gautam/my-mantra-is-simple-work-gets-you-work-and-good-work-gets-you-good/) [Yami Gautam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yami-gautam/) > [The work gets more political as I become older and more aware, I guess, of power and justice issues.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francesca-da-rimini/the-work-gets-more-political-as-i-become-older-and-more-aware-i-guess/) [Francesca Da Rimini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francesca-da-rimini/) > [Just because you make it to the top, the work gets more difficult to stay there.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/scottie-scheffler/just-because-you-make-it-to-the-top-the-work-gets-more-difficult-to/) [Scottie Scheffler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/scottie-scheffler/) > [Being pissed off all the time may be useful for work but it gets old. It wears on you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/being-pissed-off-all-the-time-may-be-useful-for-work-but-it-gets-old/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [My work gets misunderstood all the time but I actually love that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peaches/my-work-gets-misunderstood-all-the-time-but-i-actually-love-that/) [Peaches](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peaches/) > [It feels great when your work gets appreciated.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neha-kakkar/it-feels-great-when-your-work-gets-appreciated/) [Neha Kakkar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neha-kakkar/) ## More by Martin Amis > [“Yeah,' I said and started smoking another cigarette. Unless I inform you otherwise, I'm always smoking another cigarette.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/yeah-i-said-and-started-smoking-another-cigarette-unless-i-inform-you/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“barrios; each barrio has two or three gangs, and all the gangs are theoretically”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/barrios-each-barrio-has-two-or-three-gangs-and-all-the-gangs-are/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I'm not interested in making a diagnostic novel or a concern. I'm 100 percent committed in fiction to the pleasure principle - that's what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-m-not-interested-in-making-a-diagnostic-novel-or-a-concern-i-m-100/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“If we all downed tools and joined hands for ten minutes and stopped believing in money, then money would no longer exist. We never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-we-all-downed-tools-and-joined-hands-for-ten-minutes-and-stopped/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [When I see a lot of young faces in the audience, it's just sort of sinking in how important that is. Because you're old…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/when-i-see-a-lot-of-young-faces-in-the-audience-it-s-just-sort-of/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [“I was informed by my viscera that now was the time to put my arm around her shoulders. I ignored them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-was-informed-by-my-viscera-that-now-was-the-time-to-put-my-arm/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [You use a different part of your heart with girls.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/you-use-a-different-part-of-your-heart-with-girls/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [It's becoming clearer and clearer to me that the world is there to be celebrated by writers, and in fact this is what all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/it-s-becoming-clearer-and-clearer-to-me-that-the-world-is-there-to-be/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [In her final months Princess Diana was being shat upon by the tabloids -- basically for sleeping with an Arab. When she died, these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/in-her-final-months-princess-diana-was-being-shat-upon-by-the/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [If you feel you have a strong constituency among the young, you can really die happy, because the great unanswered question, the only valid…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/if-you-feel-you-have-a-strong-constituency-among-the-young-you-can/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [My life looked good on paper - where, in fact, almost all of it was being lived.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/my-life-looked-good-on-paper-where-in-fact-almost-all-of-it-was-being/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [I say, 'If I had a serious brain injury I might well write a children's book', but otherwise the idea of being conscious of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/i-say-if-i-had-a-serious-brain-injury-i-might-well-write-a-children-s/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [The future could go this way, that way. The future's futures have never looked so rocky. Don't put money on it. Take my advice…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/the-future-could-go-this-way-that-way-the-future-s-futures-have-never/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [Each life is a game of chess that went to hell on the seventh move(...)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/each-life-is-a-game-of-chess-that-went-to-hell-on-the-seventh-move/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) > [ “There exists a subterranean world where pathological fantasies disguised as ideas are churned out by crooks and half-educated fanatics \[notably the lower clergy\] for… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-amis/there-exists-a-subterranean-world-where-pathological-fantasies/) [Martin Amis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) [Explore all 393 Martin Amis quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-amis/) ## More Harder quotes > [Some people give you that motivation to work harder simply to get the hell away from wherever they are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dane-cook/some-people-give-you-that-motivation-to-work-harder-simply-to-get-the/) [Dane Cook](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dane-cook/) > [It's a lot harder to play football when you haven't got the ball.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-gray/it-s-a-lot-harder-to-play-football-when-you-haven-t-got-the-ball/) [Andy Gray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-gray/) > [Politics only makes the difficult challenge of marriage even harder, with the demands of the job and the public spotlight it casts on a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/politics-only-makes-the-difficult-challenge-of-marriage-even-harder/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [We've all seen talented young players who get to a certain level but there comes a point where that talent will only take you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/warren-gatland/we-ve-all-seen-talented-young-players-who-get-to-a-certain-level-but/) [Warren Gatland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/warren-gatland/) > [Forgive me for noting that conservatives seem to believe that the rich will work harder if we give them more, and the poor will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-j-dionne/forgive-me-for-noting-that-conservatives-seem-to-believe-that-the/) [E. 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They will not stay with you if you go…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-riordan/kids-if-anything-are-harder-to-write-for-because-they-are-a-more/) [Rick Riordan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-riordan/) > [It is easy to take a photograph, but it is harder to make a masterpiece in photography than in any other art medium.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ansel-adams/it-is-easy-to-take-a-photograph-but-it-is-harder-to-make-a/) [Ansel Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ansel-adams/) > [Harder to get in than out, like so little else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-dessen/harder-to-get-in-than-out-like-so-little-else/) [Sarah Dessen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-dessen/) > [A hardback's harder at Christmas time because that's a good hardback buying time.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-pratchett/a-hardback-s-harder-at-christmas-time-because-that-s-a-good-hardback/) [Terry Pratchett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-pratchett/) > [Indifference is harder to fight than hostility, and there is nothing that kills an agitation like having everybody admit that it is fundamentally right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/crystal-eastman/indifference-is-harder-to-fight-than-hostility-and-there-is-nothing/) [Crystal Eastman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/crystal-eastman/) > [There's nothing harder than making a mellow, clean record. It's really scary. I can see why people would never want to do it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ty-segall/there-s-nothing-harder-than-making-a-mellow-clean-record-it-s-really/) [Ty Segall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ty-segall/) > [I met Tyler Perry and we did 'House of Payne' and a movie. We've done a couple other films since then, but it all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lance-gross/i-met-tyler-perry-and-we-did-house-of-payne-and-a-movie-we-ve-done-a/) [Lance Gross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lance-gross/) > [God puts you where God needs you. You are where you are supposed to be. The job you are doing may not be any…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lawrence-kushner/god-puts-you-where-god-needs-you-you-are-where-you-are-supposed-to-be/) [Lawrence Kushner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lawrence-kushner/) > [What is needed, however, isn't just that people working together be nice to each other. It is discipline. Discipline is hard--harder than trustworthiness and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/atul-gawande/what-is-needed-however-isn-t-just-that-people-working-together-be/) [Atul Gawande](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/atul-gawande/) Browse all 3,695 Harder quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "When you’ve lost all your play, guess what love becomes. Work. 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