A dictionary of Confusable Phrases: More Than 10,000 Idioms and Collocations

call boy • call man
call boy —
1
. a man who calls up actors in a theater for duty:
Indignant denials were interrupted by the call-boy knocking
on the door and calling for Second Act beginners. 2. a mes-
senger on a steamer, in a hotel, etc.: He obtained summer
work as a part-time messenger — a job referred to at that time
as call boy. 3. a young male prostitute (who makes appoint-
ments by phone): Hustlers fall into two categories: the street
variety and models (call boys).
call man —a man available for emergency call, such as a
part-time fireman: The call man nearest to the emergency
situation was dispatched, since only one person manned the
fire station.
call girl • call-button girl
call girl —a prostitute who makes appointments by phone:
Police found the names of the call girls in classified ads and
phone books.
call-button girl—(sl.) a prostitute frequenting hotels: Pros-
titutes, “call-button girls” as they call themselves, roam from
airport to airport, operating from the airport hotels.
call in on someone • call on someone
call in on someone —pay a short visit (to a friend, etc.): We
would call in on Patrick on the way to your mother’s.
call on someone —
1
. visit a person for business or official
reasons: A doctor called on her and found she had come down
with pneumonia. 2. appeal to a person for smth.: Lord Berke-
ley called on all his friends to help him.
call in one’s chips • cash in one’s chips
call in one’s chips —use one’s influence or social connections
(to gain an advantage, etc.): That point needs making, before
Mr. Clinton’s friends in the labor unions try to call in their
chips.
cash in one’s chips —
1
. sell smth. in order to raise money:
Many mutual fund investors picked up the phone yesterday,
but decided not to cash in their chips after all. 2. (U.S. sl.)
die: Got a phone call from Herb the other day informing me
that Yochum had finally cashed in his chips at the ripe old age
of 94.