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Glite Dictionary
to call your number

to call your number

1 8.9
Make someone face consequences they cannot avoid
  • idiom
  • Informal
translation icon : llegar tu hora
  • Make up your fucking mind, 'cause they're aboutto call my number.

Examples

  • "You just never know, Percy, and when the man upstairs calls your number, that's it.

    Blog text (7)

  • She always prepared for her big moment, knowing that eventually, life would call her number.

  • But like I said, you have to take advantage of the opportunity and be ready when they call your number.

    Blog text (19)

  • I'm glad to hear the girl at the counter call my number.

    Fiction book (1997)

  • Um, look, I said, um, they're about to call my number, like, any second.

    Domino (2005)

  • So I've just got to take advantage of my opportunities, and when they call my number, I've got to be ready to go.

    Blog text (19)

  • When the time comes and they call your number, be ready to face the consequences.

  • In a game of chance, you never know when fate will call your number and change everything.

Synonyms

to have someone's number on it
vsto call your number
  • US
9.4

To be likely to cause trouble for someone

is about being singled out by fate or authority for judgment or consequences

Surface Forms

call your number infinitive
called your number past
called your number past participle
calling your number present participle
calls your number third person singular

Morphology

call + your + number

The phrase relies on the literal senses of 'call' (announce/select) and 'number' (an identifier), so there is a detectable link to being 'called' or chosen (e.g., in a roll call or game). However, the jump from that literal announcement to the idiomatic sense of being singled out for consequences or fate is a metaphorical extension that a B1 learner would not reliably infer (they might instead think of being phoned or simply announced), so the expression is only partially predictable.

Etymology

The phrase call your number may come from places where you take a paper number and wait; when someone calls that number, it's your turn. So the phrase now means that fate or someone in power will 'single you out' or make you 'face the consequences'.