James Baquet

    Becky and her classmate Lily have been chatting in the common room of their dorm all evening.

    Becky: Well, Lily, let’s wrap it up. I’m going to call it a night.

    Lily: Call what “a night?”

    Becky: No, the expression means “I’m going to bed.”

    Lily: Really? How do you figure?

    Becky: Let me thinak... So, how long is a work day?

    Lily: Usually eight hours, I believe.

    Becky: That’s right. So if you only worked, say, six hours, you couldn’t really call it a day, could you?

    Lily: Nooo...

    Becky: When eight hours have been completed, then, and it’s time to go home, some people at work might say, “Our work is finished. Let’s call it a day.”

    Lily: Oh, I think I get it. “Call it a day” came to mean “quit.” And since it’s nighttime now, and after work —

    Becky: I could say, “Let’s call it a night.” Almost the same thing.

    Lily: Got it! But wait. You also said something about “wrapping something up?”

    Becky: Yes, to “wrap it up” also means to finish something.

    Lily: Because...

    Becky: I guess if you bought something in a store, the last thing the store would do is wrap it up for you to take home... maybe.

    Lily: I agree. Or if you made a present for someone, the last thing you would do is wrap it before you gave it to them.

    Becky: Good point.

    Lily: Are there other idioms that mean “finish?”

    Becky: Sure, lots! One that I like is “pulling the plug.”

    Lily: How could I use it?

    Becky: Sometimes it just means quit. “I’m gonna pull the plug. Good night!”

    Lily: Sometimes?

    Becky: Yeah, other times it might mean “cancel.”

    Lily: For example?

    Becky: The boss pulled the plug on our project before it was finished, and asked us to start on something else.

    Lily: I like it!

    Becky: But sometimes it has a darker meaning.

    Lily: How’s that?

    Becky: It can also mean “take someone off life support.”

    Lily: I don’t follow.

    Becky: Sometimes, if someone is very sick, or in a bad accident, they can be hooked up to machines to keep them alive.

    Lily: Yes, I’ve heard of that.

    Becky: Then, if the doctors and the family agree that the situation is truly hopeless, they might decide to disconnect the machine —

    Lily: Pull the plug.

    Becky: And that’s that.

    Lily: Depressing! Give me one more to cheer me up!

    Becky: Here’s one: to “put something to bed,” like a report, or a project.

    Lily: Like, “I worked on my report for weeks, and yesterday I finally put it to bed.”

    Becky: Exactly! Now I’m going to put me to bed. Good night!

    Lily: Good night!