Call it a Day (Idioms)

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Welcome to English in a Minute!

You already know that there are seven days in a week. But what is the “it” in this expression?

Speaker A: Jonathan, I’ve been working on this project for the past fifteen hours! I am…so…tired.
Speaker B: 15 hours?! I think you should call it a day, Anna.
Speaker A: I can’t stop now, Jonathan. I must get this done.
Speaker B: The other half of the project isn’t due until next month.
Speaker A: For real?
Speaker B: Yeah. Call it a day, Anna.

To “call it a day” means to finish something for now. This expression is usually used when talking about a person’s work day. From the looks of it, Anna probably should have called it a day a few hours earlier.

And that’s English in a Minute!

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*This article has been edited and reprinted from VOA Learning English with permission from Voice of America (VOA) for use in English language materials.