Would you like to tell someone that a particular thing would be best decided by them instead of you? The phrase 'your call' is a common English expression that can be used to mean just this. This post unpacks the meaning, origin, and proper usage of this common saying.
Meaning
The phrase 'your call' is a common figurative expression in the English language.
The saying 'your call' is a saying that is used to imply that something is up to someone else (usually the person the speaker is addressing) to decide.
Sometimes the phrase 'your call' can be used as a response, as a direct statement, or as a question that implies someone should make the decision.
The phrase remains 'your call' whether the speaker is referring to one person or several.
Most often, the phrase is used to imply that the speaker would rather have the person they address decide on the topic that is being discussed.
Something can be 'not your call' which is used to imply that something is not someone's decision to make.
The phrase can also be used to refer to someone else, as in 'their call' or 'not their call'.
The phrase 'your call' can be used in the past, present, or future tense to imply that something has been, is, or is going to be someone's 'call' or decision.
The context of what is implied to be 'your call' or 'not your call' is usually either said as part of the discussion, or implied.
The phrase is figurative, and does not imply a phone call or poker call as the word 'call' originally would in most other contexts.
Example Usage
“I can't decide what we should be getting on the pizza. It's a choice between pineapple and not. It's your call.”
“It's your call if you want to go to the miltary or not. This isn't something that other people can decide for you.”
“Let's take the bus or drive to the movies, I don't know what I feel like doing. It's your call.”
“If you don't want to do this with their first suggestion, then let them know you would like to go with someone else. Like they told you in the terms and conditions for the job, it's your call.”
Origin
The phrase 'it's your call' could have originated from several different places, and the majority of language resources are not sure as to the exact first use of the phrase.
The saying is likely to be figurative, and could have originated – or at least become more a more common household phrase – through poker, which uses the 'call' as one of the betting phases from one player to the next.
By the 1800s, the phrase 'it's your call' was already in popular and common use.
Modern use of the saying continued well into the present age, with the figurative meaning of the phrase unchanged.
The saying 'it's your call' is listed on Urban Dictionary from 2013, even though earlier use of the phrase is apparent.
Phrases Similar to Its Your Call
- Its your decision
Phrases Opposite to Its Your Call
- N/a
What is the Correct Saying?
- It's your call
- It is your call
Ways People May Say Its Your Call Incorrectly
There are several ways to use the phrase 'it's your call' in the wrong way, or misunderstand the meaning of the saying when it is used.
The phrase is sometimes used as 'its your call', which is incorrect as 'it's [it is] your call' is the right way for the saying to be used.
Acceptable Ways to Phrase Its Your Call
The correct way to use the phrase 'it's your call' is to use it as a saying that implies something is up to someone else, usually the person the speaker is addressing.
Sometimes the phrase is shortened to 'your call' because the longer meaning is assumed to be known.