Error in "Better call Saul" phrase

Question

Is it correct to say "Better call Saul!"? Or do I need to say "It's better call Saul!"? Or even "It's better to call Saul!"?

I guess the third one is the correct one.

Obs.: "Better call Saul" is from the "Breaking Bad" crime drama of AMC.

Answer 1

The correct expansion of the phrase is not "It's better (to) call Saul", what it means is "You had better call Saul".

Looking up better in the dictionary, it offers some phrases, one of which is:

had better do something would find it wiser to do something; ought to do something: you had better be careful.

And later in the usage notes:

usage: In the verb phrase had better do something the word had acts like an auxiliary verb, and in informal spoken contexts it is often dropped, as in you better not come tonight. In writing, the had may be contracted to 'd but should not be dropped altogether.

Answer 2

No, Better call Saul is exactly the way it is said. That is because it was created to fit one specific situation and is understood by all Breaking Bad fans as exactly in it's correct context.

To change it would be to lose its connotation immediately. This is a case of context, not grammar.

Got busted with a kilo of meth? Better call Saul!
Looking at possible jail time for that little indiscretion you got caught for? Better call Saul!

Edited to explain etiology of the phrase. In Vince Gilligan's AMC runaway TV hit Breaking Bad, Saul Goodman is a sleazy but inventive lawyer to the criminals of Albuquerque, New Mexico, one who will go to great (and unethical) lengths to get his clients free from the legal consequences of their crimes. Hence, the phrase was created as an advertising slogan by the writers for the often humorous lawyer. His most famous client is, of course, the show's protagonist-turned-antagonist, high-school-chemistry-teacher turned crystal-meth-kingpin Walter White, who needs such a shady but resourceful lawyer to help him launder his millions and keep him out of jail.

Answer 3

Advertising slogans are often ungrammatical and idiomatic --they are more memorable that way. In this case the slogan is based on the longer idiomatic phrase "you had better [do action]," which roughly means "you should [do action] or else [something bad will happen]."

This is a reasonably common American idiom, containing an implicit threat, as in the phrase "Child, you better get your butt downstairs," used when you are trying to go someplace and your child is uncooperative.