duty calls
Responsibilities demand attention
Duty calls is a phrase announcing that obligations require one's attention, typically said when leaving pleasant company or leisure activities to attend to responsibilities: Well, duty calls—I'd better get back to work.
The expression frames departure as reluctant but unavoidable, suggesting external demands rather than personal choice.
- obligationRequired task or commitment
- summonsFormal court notification
- responsibilityState of being answerable
- serviceAid or maintenance
- national serviceMandatory government service obligation
mission · patriotism · sacrifice · honor · soldier · battlefield · work · urgent · departure · farewell · kiss goodbye · commitment · loyalty · country · uniform · bugle · deployment · marching orders
- duty
- accountabilityaccountability, responsibility, accountable, take responsibility, answerability
- Goodbye excusesgotta go, gotta run, catch you later, see you later, running late
- Mottoescarpe diem, be prepared, excelsior, always ready, liberty or death
- obligation phraseshave to, need to, ought to, should, forced to
duty callsfree time
Unscheduled personal hours
no obligations · at liberty · unencumbered · free as a bird · off duty
duty callsleisure time
Unscheduled waking hours
play time · recreation time · me time · self-indulgence · hedonism
duty, call, duties, dutiful, dutifully, calls, called, calling, caller