• CALL CANNY
vb. 1892 Sc. – to go gently, to proceed cautiously
• CALL CHARLES
vb. 1970s Aust. & US sl. – to vomit
• CALL CLASHES
vb. 1768 Sc. – to spread malicious or injurious reports; to spread a rumour or piece of gossip
• CALL COPPER
vb. 1930s UK criminals’ sl. – to inform the police
• CALL COUSINS
vb. a1632 – to address or refer to each other as ‘cousin’ as a sign of close friendship or kinship
• CALL DINOSAURS
vb. 1970s Aust. & US sl. – to vomit
• CALL-DOG
n. 1940s W. Indies sl. – a fish too small for human consumption
• CALL-DOWN
n. 1895 Amer. colloq. – a reprimand; a rebuke; a scolding
vb. 1883 Amer. dial. – (usually as ‘call down’) to reprimand; to rebuke; to scold severely; to humble one
• CALLE
n. M17 UK criminals’ sl. – a cloak or gown
• CALL EARL
vb. 1968 US students’ sl. – to vomit
• CALLED HOME
adj. 1942 Amer. sl. – dead
• CALLED TO STRAW
adj. 1931 Amer. dial. – pregnant; in childbed; pert. to a woman who has gone into labour
• CALLEE
n. 1843 – a person who is called or called upon
• CALLENGE
n. 1873 Eng. dial. – a challenge
vb. 1873 Eng. dial. – to challenge
• CALLENT
adj. 1656 obs. rare – crafty, witty, cunning or wise by experience; knowledgeable
n. 1637 obs. rare – a person who is skilled in or knowledgeable about a particular subject
• CALLER
adj. 1. c1480 Sc. & Eng. dial. – of fish, vegetables, etc.: fresh, just caught or gathered
adj. 2. a1522 Sc. & Eng. dial. – of air, water, etc.: cool, fresh, refreshing; of a room, bed, etc.: well-aired; free from mustiness
adj. 3. 1754 Sc. – healthy, vigorous
n. 1. c1503 obs. – a person who brings a charge or complaint before a court of law; a complainant, a plaintiff
n. 1. a1500 Sc. obs. – a person who drives cattle or oxen; a person who drives a cart or plough
n. 2. 1843 Eng. dial. – an official at a colliery whose duty it was to go round from house to house to call up the men for work
n. 3. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a gossip, an idler
n. 4. 1917 US rare – a person who summons railway workers to work
vb. 1817 Sc. – to freshen, to cool, to refresh
• CALLER AS A KAIL-BLADE
adj. 1790 Sc. – as refreshing and cool as possible
• CALLER AS A TROUT
adj. 1768 Sc. – of persons: in good health, rosy, plump
• CALLERNESS
n. 1835 Sc. – freshness
• CALLET
n. 1. 1415 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – a lewd woman; a trull, a strumpet; a prostitute; a promiscuous woman
n. 2. a1528 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – a term of abuse; a hag; a scold; a woman given to nagging
n. 3. 1825 Sc. – the head
vb. 1. 1620 obs. exc. Eng. dial. – to scold, to rail, to nag
vb. 2. 1869 Eng. dial., rare – to gossip, to talk
• CALLETER
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a gossip
• CALLETING
adj. 1. 1691 Eng. dial. obs. – nagging, scolding, quarrelsome, ill-tempered
adj. 2. 1824 – pert, saucy, gossiping, cheeky, impertinent
n. 1. 1620 obs. – scolding, nagging
n. 2. 1869 Eng. dial. – chatting, gossiping
• CALLETING-BOUT
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a wordy quarrel; mutual recrimination
• CALLETY
adj. 1863 Eng. dial. – nagging, scolding, quarrelsome, ill-tempered
• CALLEY
n. 1975 Jamaica – marijuana
• CALL FLAT
n. 1916 Amer. sl. – a brothel, or a place where appointments with prostitutes can be made, as by telephone
• CALL FOR A CAB
vb. 1961 UK sl. – of a jockey: to make jerky arm movements as he battles to remain in the saddle
• CALL FOR BILL
vb. 1960s UK society sl. – to vomit
• CALL FOR HERB
vb. 1960s Aust. sl. – to vomit
• CALL FOR HUGHIE
vb. 1960s UK society sl. – to vomit
• CALL FOR RALPH
vb. 1960s sl. – to vomit
• CALL FOR THE BUTTER
vb. 1975 US sl. – to have completed a task or arrived at your destination
• CALL FULL-MOUTH
vb. 20C W. Indies sl. – to address an elder or senior person without using Mr., Mrs., or Miss
• CALL GIRL
n. 1. 1892 orig. US – a female telephone operator
n. 2. L19 sl. – a woman who works in a brothel
n. 3. 1900 Amer. sl. – a prostitute, esp. one who may be engaged by telephone
n. 4. 1912 US sl. – any prostitute
• CALL HOGS
vb. 1912 Amer. dial. – to snore
• CALL-HOIL
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a place for gossip
• CALL HOME
vb. 1. 1863 Eng. dial. – to publish the banns of matrimony; generally for the third time
vb. 2. 1887 Eng. dial. – to remember, to recollect, to call to mind; to remember a person’s name
• CALL HOUSE
n. 1. 1680 obs. – a place for labourers to congregate for a call to work or for work instructions
n. 2. L19 sl. – a brothel to which men can come without making any prior appointment
n. 3. 1909 Amer. sl. – a brothel; a house of assignation where appointments with prostitutes can be made, as by telephone
• CALLIBISTERS
n. 16C sl. – the vagina
• CALLIBLEPHARY
n. 1601 rare – a dye for the eyelids; eyeshadow
• CALLIBOGUS
n. 1758 Amer. sl. – a mixture of rum and spruce beer
• CALLIBOUSE
n. 1792 Amer. sl. – a jail, esp. one in a village or small town
• CALLID
adj. 1656 obs. rare – crafty, cunning
• CALLIDITY
n. c1450 now rare or obs. – craftiness, cunning; shrewdness
• CALLIE
n. 1. 1919 US tramps’ sl. – a police station
n. 2. 1919 US tramps’ sl. – a prison
• CALLIFUDGE
n. 1870 Eng. dial. – nonsense, humbug
vb. 1884 Eng. dial. – to cheat, to deceive; to cajole, to flatter
• CALLIFUGLE
n. 1870 Eng. dial. – nonsense, humbug
vb. 1884 Eng. dial. – to cheat, to deceive; to cajole, to flatter
• CALLIGRAPH
n. 1. 1853 arch. – one who writes beautifully; a professional transcriber of manuscripts
n. 2. 1878 – a beautiful specimen of writing
vb. 1840 – to write beautifully or ornamentally
• CALLIGRAPHER
n. 1752 – one who writes beautifully
• CALLIGRAPHICAL
adj. 1630 obs. – pert. to calligraphy; also, of a beautiful literary style
• CALLIGRAPHIST
n. 1816 – a person who writes beautifully
• CALLIMANKER
n. 1947 Amer. dial. – a calico or tortoiseshell cat
• CALLIMETER
n. 1862 rare – a scale for measuring the beauty of something
• CALL IN
vb. 1899 Amer. dial. – to begin
• CALL IN A MARKER
vb. 1970s US sl. – to demand repayment of a favour
• CALLING
adj. 1847 Eng. dial. – gossiping, idling
n. 1. a1400 obs. – a receiving a person into one’s company; reception, welcome
n. 2. a1425 obs. – the name given to a person or thing; an appellation
n. 3. a1425 Sc. – a driving sheep, cattle, or whales to a particular place; a roundup, a drive
n. 4. 1477 obs. – a person’s position, condition, or station in life; rank
n. 5. 1855 Eng. dial. – loud vituperation; scolding
n. 6. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – gossip, scandal, idling
• CALLING BELL
n. 1971 Indian English – a doorbell
• CALLING CARD
n. 1. 1920s US criminals’ sl. – fingerprints
n. 2. 1971 US sl. – needle marks on a drug user’s arm
n. 3. 1980s Irish euphemism – excrement
n. 4. 1990 US sl. – during the Vietnam war: a printed card identifying the unit, left on the bodies of dead enemy soldiers
• CALLING-DOWN
n. 1886 chiefly Amer. – a reprimand; a scolding
• CALLING-HOIL
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a place for gossip
• CALLING-HOME
n. 1872 Eng. dial. – the publication of the banns
• CALLING-SHOP
n. 1868 Eng. dial. – a place for gossip
• CALLING OVER
n. 1594 obs. – a reading out a list of names in order to establish who is present; a roll-call
• CALLING STATION
n. 1979 US sl. – in poker: an unskilled player who calls bets prematurely
• CALL IN ONE’S MARKER
vb. 1970s US sl. – to demand repayment of a favour
• CALL IN QUESTION
vb. 1578 – to cast doubt on, to dispute
• CALL IN SOMEONE’S CHIPS
vb. 1881 Amer. sl. – to challenge someone openly
• CALL IN THE OTHER NAIL
vb. 1865 Sc. – to go on drinking
• CALLION
n. 1824 Sc. – anything old and ugly
• CALLIOPE
n. 1929 US railroad jargon – a steam locomotive
• CALLIPYGIAN
adj. 1818 – having well-shaped or finely developed buttocks
• CALLIPYGOUS
adj. 1923 – having well-shaped buttocks
• CALLIS
n. 1854 Eng. dial. obs. – a lean-to, a shed, mostly used as a vegetable cellar
• CALLISTHENIUM
n. 1832 US rare – a building, or part of a building, dedicated to the practice of callisthenics
• CALL IT
vb. 1987 UK sl. – to state the price expected for the service requested; said of a prostitute while working
• CALL IT A DAY
vb. 1. M19 sl. – to die
vb. 2. M19 sl. – to stop, to go no further; to express satisfaction with progress or acceptance that one cannot improve a situation
• CALL IT A GO
vb. M19 sl. – to stop, to go no further; to express satisfaction with progress or acceptance that one cannot improve a situation
• CALL IT A NIGHT
vb. M19 sl. – to stop, to go no further; to express satisfaction with progress or acceptance that one cannot improve a situation
• CALL IT GEORGE
vb. 20C W. Indies sl. – to agree that a matter it concluded; to bring something to an end, such as a day’s work
• CALLITHUMP
n. 1843 US colloq. – a loud bout of noise-making performed by a group of people with a variety of instruments, utensils, etc., as a demonstration of a general feeling of celebration, dissatisfaction, etc.; also, a member of a group of people putting on such a performance
vb. 1851 US colloq. – to make discordant music or noise using a variety of instruments, utensils, etc., as a demonstration of a general feeling of celebration, etc.
• CALLITHUMPIAN
adj. 1851 Amer. dial. – noisy, boisterous, discordant
n. 1830 US Amer dial. – a band or member of a band that makes discordant so-called music by playing a number of instruments, either in an unlikely combination or conjured up from unlikely objects, such as washboards, tin kettles, etc.
• CALL IT ON
vb. 1955 US sl. – to challenge another gang to a gang fight
• CALL IT QUITS
vb. 20C sl. – to die
• CALL IT WALLY
vb. 20C W. Indies sl. – to agree that a matter it concluded; to bring something to an end, such as a day’s work
• CALL JOINT
n. 1916 Amer. sl. – a brothel, or a place where appointments with prostitutes can be made, as by telephone
• CALL MAN
n. 1. 1876 US – a firefighter who is summoned when needed, as opposed to being permanently employed
n. 2. 1900 UK obs. – a man responsible for summoning fog signalmen
• CALL MOM
n. 1930s sl., orig. US – a prostitute who advertises her services through an agency, through the (print) media, in telephone kiosks, etc., and visits a client in his own home or hotel room
• CALL MONEY
n. 1989 US sl. – a demand for payment of a debt
• CALL-OFF
n. 1. 1883 rare – an instance of being called away from an activity; an instance of calling a person or animal, esp. a dog, off
n. 2. 1894 – a cancellation of an event, activity, etc.
n. 3. 1972 US – an instance of an employee reporting his or her absence from work that day, esp. due to illness
• CALL OFF ALL BETS
vb. 1940s African-American sl. – to die
• CALL OF THE GREAT OUTDOORS
n.1965 UK sl. – a need to defecate or urinate
• CALL-ON
n. 1945 – a meeting at which dockyard labourers are hired
• CALL ONE OUT
vb. 1954 Amer. dial. – to wake someone
• CALL ONE OUT OF ONE’S NAME
vb. 1. 1881 Eng. & Amer. dial. – to call by a nickname, not by one’s proper name
vb. 2. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to abuse, to vilify
• CALL ONE’S FOOD
vb. 1967 Amer. dial. – to eat noisily
• CALL ONE’S HAND
vb. c1960 Amer. dial. – to question, to call one to account
• CALL ONE’S JAWBONE
vb. Bk1896 sl. – to live on credit
• CALL ON THE CARPET
vb. 1. 1889 – to summon for or administer a rebuke or the like
vb. 2. 1960s US sl. – to reprimand; to scold
vb. 3. 1990s US prison sl. – to challenge another speaker to justify his remarks, whether hostile, gossiping or whatever
• CALLOSIFY
vb. 1800 rare – to make callous; to harden; to make more rigid or fixed
• CALLOSITY
n. 1628 – a hardened state of mind; callousness; insensibility
• CALLOTECHNICS
n. 1841 obs. rare – the fine arts, sports, and games, considered collectively
• CALLOUSED
adj. 1746 – callous, indifferent
• CALL OUT
n. 1765 obs. rare – (as ‘call-out’) an outcry, a clamour
vb. 1. L19 sl. – to challenge to a fight
vb. 2. 1916 Amer. dial. – to invite a woman to dance
vb. 3. 1920s US criminals’ sl. – to use a stolen cheque
vb. 4. 1990s US college sl. – to embarrass
• CALL OUT OF NAME
vb. 1899 Amer. dial. – to call or address by improper and abusive names
• CALL-OVER
n. 1. 1863 UK – a roll-call
n. 2. 1925 horse-racing usage, rare – a meeting held to determine the betting odds for a particular race, in which bets are placed on horses whose names are read out from a list
• CALL OVER THE ROLLS
vb. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to call up for reprimand
• CALLOW
adj. 1. a1000 obs. – bald, without hair
adj. 2. a1000 obs. – of land: bare
adj. 3. 1567 – of birds: unfledged, without feathers
adj. 4. 1580 – raw, inexperienced, immature, naive
adj. 5. 1604 – applied to the down on a youth’s cheek and chin
adj. 6. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – pale, wan
n. 1. c1305 obs. – one who is bald
n. 2. 1651 obs. – an unfledged nestling
n. 3. 1670 obs. – a raw or inexperienced youth
• CALLOW-MOUSE
n. 1340 obs. – a bat
• CALLOW FROST
n. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – a surface frost
• CALLOWLY
adv. 1900 – immaturely, naively
• CALLOWNESS
n. 1. a1400 obs. – baldness; lack of hair
n. 2. 1817 – immaturity, inexperience
• CALLOW-WABLIN
n. 1825 Eng. dial. – an unfledged bird
• CALLOWY
adj. 1823 obs., poetic usage – of a young bird: without feathers, unfledged
• CALL PIGS
vb. 1965 Amer. dial. – to snore
• CALL RALPH
vb. 1960s sl. – to vomit
• CALL RAW
vb. 20C W. Indies sl. – to address an elder or senior person without using Mr., Mrs., or Miss
• CALLS
n. 1862 Eng. dial. obs. – a scolding, abuse, vituperation
• CALL SEALS
vb. 1970s Aust. & US sl. – to vomit
• CALL SHEEP
vb. Bk1898 Sc. – to stagger in walking
• CALL SOME HOGS
vb. 1946 Amer. dial. – to snore
• CALL SOMEONE FULL-MOUTH
vb. 1995 Guyana sl. – to address your elder without using an honorific Mr. or Mrs.
• CALL SOMEONE RAW
vb. 1995 Anguilla – to address your elder without using an honorific Mr. or Mrs.
• CALL SOMEONE’S BLUFF
vb. 1870s Amer. sl. – to force someone to justify or validate a pretense; to require the truth
• CALL SOMEONE’S CARD
vb. 1980s US sl. – to call someone’s bluff
• CALL SOMEONE’S GAME
vb. 1983 Amer. sl. – to call someone’s bluff; to challenge, as to a fight
• CALL SOMEONE’S HAND
vb. 1857 Amer. colloq. – in gambling: to challenge openly; to call someone’s bluff
• CALL STATION
n. 1. 1876 obs. – a centre where calls made by telegraph, esp. to summon police officers or firefighters, are received; a telegraph station
n. 2. 1884 – an establishment where members of the public can make and receive telephone calls; a telephone box or kiosk
• CALL THAT GEORGE!
phr. 1983 Trinidad & Tobago – used to express finality or completion
• CALL THE CLASH
vb. 1825 rare – to spread a rumour or piece of gossip
• CALL THE COIN
vb. 1950s US sl. – to call ‘heads or tails’ when a coin is tossed
• CALL THE COWS
vb. 1965 Amer. dial. – to snore
• CALL THE CRACK
vb. 1785 rare – to keep the conversation going; to talk together, to converse
• CALL THE DOGS
vb. 1. 1965 Amer. dial. – to snore
vb. 2. 1990s US college sl. – to vomit
• CALL THE GAME IN
vb. 1910s Aust. & NZ sl. – to abandon one’s efforts; to admit defeat
• CALL THE HOGS TO THE HILL
vb. Bk1898 Sc. – to snore
• CALL THE KNOCK
vb. 2000s sl. – to track down, to apprehend and arrest
• CALL THEM ALL THROUGH ONE FORD
vb. Bk1898 Eng. dial. – to treat all alike, irrespective of person or quality
• CALL THE NAIL TO THE HEAD
vb. 1768 Sc. – to carry a matter through, to proceed to extremities
• CALL THE PLAYS
vb. 1930s sl. – to dictate a course of action; to say what should happen
• CALL THE QUEEN ONE’S AUNT
vb. Bk1905 Eng. dial. – to have the greatest happiness or distinction possible
• CALL THE SHOTS
vb. 1930s sl. – to dictate a course of action; to say what should happen; to be in a position of power
• CALL-THE-SHUTTLE
n. 1817 Sc. – a weaver
• CALL THE TURN
vb. 1876 Amer. sl., orig. gambling usage – to make an accurate statement or prediction
• CALL TRADE
n. 1910s sl. – prostitution by which women or men are summoned by telephone after they have been selected, via some form of visual ‘menu’, by the male clientele
• CALLUM
n. 1440 obs. – a callus
• CALL-UP
n. 1. 1960 US sport usage – a person invited to play for a particular team
n. 2. 2001 UK sl. – in prison: a summons to a governor’s office
vb. 1548 obs. – (as ‘call up’) to rouse from sleep
• CALLUSED
adj. 1887 Sc. – hard-hearted, indifferent
• CALLY
n. 1. 1919 Amer. sl. – a calaboose; a jail, a lock-up
n. 2. 1926 Amer. sl. – a police station
n. 3. 1930 US sl. – California
• CALLYBOOSE
n. 1929 Amer. sl. – a jail, esp. one in a village or small town
• CALLY-CORNERED
adj. 1954 Amer. dial. – out of line, askew, awry
• CALLY DOSH
n. 1988 UK sl. – money
• CALLYHOOTING
adv. 1880 Amer. dial. – moving very rapidly and noisily
• CALLYMOOCHER
n. a1627 obs. rare – a term of abuse or reproach; ? a raw, inexperienced person, a greenhorn
• CALLYVAN
n. 1874 Eng. dial. – a caravan, a house on wheels, used by gypsy hawkers or in wild-beast shows; any very large carriage
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Updated: Feb. 26, 2023
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