Call it a day and call it a night

Call it a day and call it a night are idioms that came into use in the twentieth century. We will examine the meaning of the idioms call it a day and call it a night, where they came from, and some examples of their use in sentences.

Call it a day is an idiom used when one ceases to work. When one is tired and has been working hard, it is time to come to a stopping point and call it a day. One may call it a day because he has successfully completed something, or he may call it a day because nothing is going right and he is unsuccessful. In this case, someone may call it a day in the hopes that a fresh start in the morning will bring more success. It is also common to call it a day when one is engaged in a task he is not enjoying. The expression call it a day is actually part of a longer phrase used in the early 1800s: call it half a day. This phrase meant that the speaker was leaving work early, only working half of the day. The phrase was abbreviated to call it a day by the early twentieth century. Related phrases are calls it a day, called it a day, calling it a day.

The phrase call it a night came into use in the 1930s and usually means to cease the leisure activity one is engaged in and to go home to bed. One may call it a night after a party, movie, dinner, or other social activity. One may call it a night because of exhaustion, or simply because one is not enjoying the activity or the company of one’s companions. Related phrases are calls it a night, called it a night, calling it a night.

Examples

“I used to just throw a mic anywhere, run through a song a few times, be satisfied and call it a day,” he said.  (Newport This Week)

Rebuilding can be a long and troubling process; after this performance, older players are likely to call it a day (Chris Gayle said before the tournament that this would be his last), and younger players will wonder if they can handle the transition. (The Hindu)

No matter how many espresso martinis you’ve indulged in, there comes a point when it’s time to crash and call it a night (we speak from experience, ladies). (Curve Magazine)

He finally texted her later in the evening — he was tired and was going to call it a night.  (The Orange County Register)