call names

Idioms  

1. Verbally abuse someone, use offensive epithets, as in The teacher told the children to stop calling names. This idiom was first recorded in the late 1600s but Shakespeare used a similar expression earlier in Richard III (1:3): “That thou hadst called me all these bitter names.”

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Example Sentences

“Everyone else you call names and mistreat and then falsely claim you are a victim…@pmddomingos.”

From The Verge • Mar. 5, 2021

"They weren't abusive and they didn't call names," the fourth alum recalled.

From Fox News • Sep. 14, 2020

“They call names, they deny, but they’re not willing to face up to what the real facts are,” Mr. Bolton said.

From Washington Times • Jun. 22, 2020

But, she said, “You’ll note that nowhere in the statement do we call names or label people as ‘Christian nationalists.’

From Salon • Aug. 10, 2019

“Yeah, well, tell your illiterate friends that if they’re going to call names, they should at least know how to spell them.”

From "The Misfits" by James Howe