call it a day

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Idioms and Phrases

Stop a particular activity for the rest of the day, as in It's past five o'clock so let's call it a day . Similarly, call it a night means “to stop something for the rest of the night,” as in One more hand of bridge and then let's call it a night . The original phrase was call it half a day , first recorded in 1838, which referred to leaving one's place of employment before the work day was over. The first recorded use of call it a day was in 1919, and of call it a night in 1938. Also see call it quits .

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April 23, 2024inveterate

[in-vet-er-it ]

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Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

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