call it a day

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 .

Related Words

• achieve
• break up
• cease
• close
• complete
• conclude
• culminate
• delay
• drop
• expire
• finish
• give up
• halt
• play out
• quit
• resolve
• settle
• stop
• terminate
• wind up