call time
(UK) To announce the closing of a pub for the day.
Definitions
(UK) To announce the closing of a pub for the day.
Let's have another pint quickly, before the landlord calls time.
Comments
(UK) To end something.
The boxer is ready to call time on his long career.
“Come on America, surely your system isn't so bloody hobbled that you can't call time on this shitshow? He and all his loyalists need to go.”
— Bluesky· May 2026
Comments
(sports) To call a timeout.
Call time means: To call a timeout.. There is no real cause for parental concern; it is descriptive vocabulary rather than risky behaviour. It is sporting vocabulary and harmless in itself. If your teen uses it, context will usually make the intent clear. A short, curious question about where they heard it is usually all that is needed to know whether to follow up.
call time means: To call a timeout.. Register: neutral, standard English. A common learner mistake is using the word in a register it does not fit, or assuming a single global meaning; native speakers immediately notice when slang appears in formal contexts, so always check the surrounding register before producing it yourself. A formal-English equivalent (a synonym or descriptive phrase) is usually safer in writing. When in doubt, paraphrase rather than reuse the slang form.
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🇬🇧About British & Irish slang slang
UK and Irish slang — Cockney, Scouse, Geordie, Yorkshire, Glaswegian, Brummie, Welsh, West Country, plus Irish English. Centuries of regional dialects feeding into modern British and Irish street talk.
See all British & Irish slang slang on Slangora.
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Semantically related
- closing time77%
(UK, Canada) The time when a public house or restaurant closes.
- chucking-out time72%
(UK, slang) The time of closing at a public house.
- drinking-up time68%
(UK) The time when customers in a public house should finish consuming their drinks, before closing time.
- stop-tap63%
Welsh and broader British pub slang for last orders — the final call for drinks before a pub closes for the night. When the landlord calls stop-tap, you have a narrow window to get one last round in before service ends. The term is especially common in Wales, where pub culture has its own rich vocabulary, and it captures the bittersweet ritual of a night winding down over a final pint.