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Mak
Does "make a call" mean "make a decision"?
I have heard Indians use the phrase "to make a call" to mean "to make a decision". But I have never heard American or British speakers use it that way. I know that "call" can mean "decision" in sentences such as "It's your call", " That was a good/bad/tough call" etc. But I have never heard the specific expression "make a call". Is it an Indian English thing or is it an American / British collocation too?
Mar 6, 2014 6:22 PM
Answers · 6
3
As an American I would use "make a call". I might say something like, "Will Mak ever make a call on coming to the US or not?" I would more likely use "make the call". "Yes, I wish Mak would make the call too, I really want to go to the US."
March 6, 2014
2
Yes, "to make a call" does also mean "to make a decision." The reason that you may have heard it less often stems primarily from the fact that "to make a call" has a different nuance than "to make a decision."
"To make a decision" usually requires some deliberation, weighing benefits against harm. On the other hand, "to make a call" has the additional nuance that you are faced between two almost equally attractive (or unattractive) choices, and you *must* choose one over the other. In other words, "to make a call" gives the hearer the impression that the decision was, well, "a close call."
That is why you usually hear "to make a call" in sports, when an umpire has to decide whether there was a foul when perhaps the line between "foul" and "no foul" is actually quite blurry...
Hope this helps.
March 6, 2014
"Make a call" could also be used when referring to a telephone call.
I hope this clears up your dilemma :-)
March 6, 2014
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Mak
Language Skills
Assamese, Bengali, English, German, Hindi
Learning Language
Assamese, English, German
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