Hello, and welcome to The English We Speak. I'm Jennifer, and with me in the studio is, yawn, Helen.
Hi Jen. Are you a bit tired? Oh yes, I really am. I've been here since seven this morning. I think I'm ready to call it a day now.
What do you want to call it? Monday? Tuesday? Oh no, I don't mean. How about Saturday? That's my favourite day.
Or we could call it a new day altogether. What about cake-day, or coffee-day. I don't want to rename the day.
In English, if you're ready to call it a day, it means that you want to finish whatever you're doing, and usually go home.
So you want to call it a day now? We haven't finished the programme yet. That's true.
In that case, let's hear some examples of the phrase in action. We're getting nowhere with this.
Shall we call it a day and start again tomorrow? I'm getting picked up from work at five, so I think I'd better call it a day.
I see, so if you call it a day, you decide that it's time to finish the work you're doing. That's right, so let's call it a day right now.
Alright then, do you fancy a quick drink after work? Well, I'm feeling pretty tired, but I suppose I could come out for one drink.
Let's go then! Some time later... Jen, look at the time, we've been here seven hours. I know. I don't know where the evening went.
It's probably time to call it a night. I thought the phrase was "call it a day"? We can also say "call it a night" if you've been somewhere in the evening and you know it's time to go home.
Well, I definitely think that you need to call it a night, then. Although look. What? The sun is coming up already.
We've been out on the town all night. Perhaps we should call it a day instead? That means it's nearly time for work again. Can I call in sick, please?