- Phrases used to suggest stopping work or some other activity, either for the rest of the day or the rest of the night.
- Implies that enough has been done or that it's a suitable time to finish.
- Let's call it a day: Usually refers to finishing work or daytime activities.
- Let's call it a night: Usually refers to finishing evening activities (work, socializing, studying).
Explanation
Origin
- Appears to have originated in the early 20th century. The idea is to declare the day's work or night's activity officially over, similar to how a referee might call a game over. It's a mutual agreement to stop.
Synonyms & Related Expressions
Alternatives
Slang/Informal:
- Let's bounce. / Time to bounce. (Let's leave, informal)
- Let's ditch this. (Stop doing something, casual/sometimes negative)
- Alright, I'm beat. Let's bail. (Leave because tired)
More Formal (Less common for this exact meaning, but related):
- Shall we conclude for the day/evening?
- Perhaps this is a good stopping point.
- Let's adjourn until tomorrow. (Formal meeting context)
Situational Appropriateness
- Very common in work settings (especially call it a day) among colleagues or from a manager to a team.
- Also common in social or study situations (call it a night).
- Generally informal to semi-formal. Avoid in highly formal proceedings where adjourn might be used.
Misunderstanding Warnings
- Can be slightly confusing literally (call what a day?). Learners need to understand it's an idiom for declare the day/night's activities finished.
Examples
- (At 5 PM in the office): Okay team, we've made good progress. Let's call it a day.
- (After hours of studying): My brain is fried. Let's call it a night?
- (Working late on a project): We're not going to finish this tonight anyway. Let's call it a day and start fresh tomorrow.
- (Leaving a party): I'm getting tired. Ready to call it a night?
Dialogue
Context
(Two colleagues working late)
Mei: Okay, I think I've stared at this spreadsheet long enough. My eyes are crossing.
David: Tell me about it. We've been here for 10 hours.
Mei: Shall we call it a night? We can finish this report tomorrow morning.
David: Yes, please. Great suggestion. Let's call it a day... or night, whatever. I'm going home.
Mei: Sounds good. See you tomorrow.
David: You too.
Social Media Examples
- Tweet: Productive day coding, but my brain needs a break. Let's call it a day! #developer #coding #burnout
- Instagram Story (caption on a picture of friends leaving a bar): Fun night, but time to call it a night! 😴 #friends #goodtimes
- Slack Message (in a team channel): Alright team, hit our main goal for today. Let's call it a day. See you all tomorrow!
Response Patterns
- Sounds good to me.
- Agreed. I'm exhausted.
- Okay, great idea.
- Alright, packing up now.
- Yeah, I'm ready too.
Common Follow-up Questions/Actions
After someone suggests Let's call it a day/night:
- Others usually agree or briefly state their readiness to stop.
- People begin packing up, saving work, shutting down computers, getting coats, etc.
- Brief closing remarks might be exchanged (Good work today, See you tomorrow, Get home safe).
After agreement (Sounds good):
- The group proceeds with the actions of stopping (packing up, saying goodbyes).
Conversation Starter
- No. Used to propose the end of an activity.
Intonation
- Usually said with a tone of finality or slight tiredness, often with falling intonation at the end.
- Emphasis on CALL and DAY/NIGHT.
- Let's CALL it a DAY.
- Let's CALL it a NIGHT? (Rising intonation if posing as a question/suggestion).
Generation Differences
- Widely understood and used by most adult generations.
Regional Variations
- Universal in English-speaking regions.