Timeline for Has “call on someone” meaning “pay a short visit” fallen out of usage?
Current License: CC BY-SA 3.0
11 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Jan 28, 2018 at 19:52 | comment | added | Lambie | Obscure is simply not the right word. It is merely old-fashioned. Anyway, the Brits don't use it much either anymore. They say pop: pop in, pop round, etc. | |
| Jan 27, 2018 at 1:02 | comment | added | Robbie Goodwin | @ aparente001 thanks but don't you think I'd then have to do some research? Either way, everyone I know's been using "If we're going to Wheresit, let's call on/call in on Uncle Fred on the way…" for as long as I can remember. | |
| Jan 26, 2018 at 3:13 | comment | added | aparente001 | @RobbieGoodwin - Care to turn that comment into an answer? | |
| Jan 24, 2018 at 0:25 | comment | added | Robbie Goodwin | I suggest it's not at all obscure in US American English, for the simple reason that you first need to choose your M.A.S.H. character before you start specifying anything about 'American English.' Sure, Klinger prolly won't like it too much and are you really suggesting Winchester won't? | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 18:05 | comment | added | Oldbag | @AndyT - I didn't say "can't" - I said it's "obscure". | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 15:40 | comment | added | AndyT | Your reasoning that "call" can't mean "visit" seems completely unjustified, especially as a) many words have multiple meanings in english and b) "call on" is differentiated from "call" by the word "on". | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 15:38 | comment | added | AndyT | @Oldbag - In BrE we would also say "I need to call my mother". PJ and Duncan (who I'm relatively sure never made it big in the US) had a song in the 90s with the lyric "If I give you my number, will you call?". We don't use "ring" that often. I might "ring" a number, but I'm far more likely to "call" a person. | |
| Jan 23, 2018 at 14:50 | comment | added | Oldbag | @Mari-LouA - I don't doubt it. But, in AmE we have abandoned the "phone" qualifier, for the most part. As in: "I need to call my mother," "Where the hell have you been - you couldn't call?" or, "I gotta call in to work, to call out, today." | |
| Jan 20, 2018 at 16:31 | comment | added | 1006a | I agree. In the Midwestern US, I'm not sure I've ever heard anyone use "call" to mean "visit" in casual speech (though I'm certainly familiar with the usage from books). The phrase "call on" would probably be understood, but expressions like "make some calls" or "call (a)round" (which I think can refer to in-person interactions in BrE) would universally be understood as referring to phone conversations in the US. | |
| Jan 20, 2018 at 14:37 | comment | added | Mari-Lou A | In BrEng the noun "phone call" is very common | |
| Jan 20, 2018 at 14:19 | history | answered | Oldbag | CC BY-SA 3.0 |