last call

[ last kawl ]

noun

1. an announcement made in a bar shortly before service of alcoholic beverages ends (sometimes used attributively): I’m getting too old for last call hookups.

   We do last call 30 minutes before we close the doors, and we stop serving drinks 10 minutes after last call.

   I’m getting too old for last call hookups.

Word History and Origins

Origin of last call¹

An Americanism dating back to 1935–40

Example Sentences

In much of the country, the first half of October is usually the last call for outdoor painting projects, such as touching up scraped patches of siding or repainting a porch.

From Washington Post

Before we start, it’s last call for the Loser potluck picnic at my house on Saturday afternoon, July 3.

From Washington Post

The Raptors were playing on their adopted home floor in Tampa, and they came in with a nine-game winning streak against Washington, but this was last call.

From Washington Post

In pre-pandemic Miami, I always looked forward to last call because I knew we would end up at a fritanga.

From Popular-Science

So the same way that a bar has a last call, they flash the lights or you literally say, “Last call.”

From Freakonomics

I cried buckets after that last call but he never rang me again.

From The Daily Beast

When told to stand up after the last call from the mosque, none of us could.

From The Daily Beast

The last call announced their arrival, and the unmarked police car spotted them on the corner.

From The Daily Beast

Boehner “certainly comes from a long tradition,” says Daniel Okrent, author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

From The Daily Beast

Daniel Okrent is the author of Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition.

From The Daily Beast

All except Betty, who kept on desperately, doggedly, her muscles barely able to respond to the last call she was making upon them.

From Project Gutenberg

I've been waiting for the ladies to return my last call, but we were down in this vicinity, so I stopped.

From Project Gutenberg

But this was fated to be the doctors last call to that patient.

From Project Gutenberg

This is the last call for dinner in the dining-car, for you.

From Project Gutenberg

Just once, since Arkwright's last call, she had tried to sing that song.

From Project Gutenberg