YouTube / iTunes / Spotify / Radio Public / Pocket Casts / Google Podcasts / Breaker / Overcast
Listen to ArtisanEnglish.jp posts & lesson intros here.
WotD: Call (someone) out
Here we go again.
In ‘call (someone) out,’ we have a phrasal verb that can have three different meanings depending on how they are used.
To start, let’s look at the most straightforward definition to understand.
If China were to attack Japan militarily, Japan would have to call the self-defence forces out to deal with them.
In this sense, to call someone out means to send for someone to help in an emergency.
The next meaning relates to a workers’ strike.
If a union representing workers feels that negotiations with an employer are not moving forward, and the workers have previously agreed to the possibility of going on strike, then the union can call the workers out.
This means the union can tell the workers to stop working to pressure the employer to come to an agreement.
That’s two down and only one to go.
The final meaning of ‘call (someone) out‘ is to criticize someone for what they have said or done and demand an explanation.
For example, if your spouse says they are trying to lose weight but continues to eat junk food, you should call them out.
What they say and what they do are different things, and it’s your responsibility as their loved one to demand an explanation.
Sometimes, people need a little criticism to get them back on track.
Not only spouses but also politicians and public personalities are often called out on social media for stupid or unexplained actions.
There you have it, boys and girls, three ways to call someone out.
Flesch-Kincaid Readability Test
This post is understandable by someone with at least an 8th-grade education (age 13 -14).
On the Flesch-Kincaid reading-ease test, this post scores 68.
The easier a passage is to read, the higher the score on a scale of 0 – 100.