Use of “please call again” in a high street shop

Multi tool use
The 1963 Broadway musical "She loves me" is set in a Budapest parfumerie in 1934.
In the play, every time a customer leaves the shop, the employees sing a short jingle:
Thank you madam, please call again. Do call again, madam.
I was wondering why the verb "call" is used, considering that the business serves casual customers that don't book appointments.
Does "call" have a special meaning in this historical, geographical or gergal context?
word-usage
add a comment |
The 1963 Broadway musical "She loves me" is set in a Budapest parfumerie in 1934.
In the play, every time a customer leaves the shop, the employees sing a short jingle:
Thank you madam, please call again. Do call again, madam.
I was wondering why the verb "call" is used, considering that the business serves casual customers that don't book appointments.
Does "call" have a special meaning in this historical, geographical or gergal context?
word-usage
1
See Oxford sense 6.
– Andrew Leach♦
4 hours ago
You don't see it as much of late, but 20-30 years ago it would not be unusual to see, in the US, a sign hanging near the exit that said "Thank you -- Please call again".
– Hot Licks
1 hour ago
add a comment |
The 1963 Broadway musical "She loves me" is set in a Budapest parfumerie in 1934.
In the play, every time a customer leaves the shop, the employees sing a short jingle:
Thank you madam, please call again. Do call again, madam.
I was wondering why the verb "call" is used, considering that the business serves casual customers that don't book appointments.
Does "call" have a special meaning in this historical, geographical or gergal context?
word-usage
The 1963 Broadway musical "She loves me" is set in a Budapest parfumerie in 1934.
In the play, every time a customer leaves the shop, the employees sing a short jingle:
Thank you madam, please call again. Do call again, madam.
I was wondering why the verb "call" is used, considering that the business serves casual customers that don't book appointments.
Does "call" have a special meaning in this historical, geographical or gergal context?
word-usage
word-usage
asked 6 hours ago


Nicola SapNicola Sap
28119
28119
1
See Oxford sense 6.
– Andrew Leach♦
4 hours ago
You don't see it as much of late, but 20-30 years ago it would not be unusual to see, in the US, a sign hanging near the exit that said "Thank you -- Please call again".
– Hot Licks
1 hour ago
add a comment |
1
See Oxford sense 6.
– Andrew Leach♦
4 hours ago
You don't see it as much of late, but 20-30 years ago it would not be unusual to see, in the US, a sign hanging near the exit that said "Thank you -- Please call again".
– Hot Licks
1 hour ago
1
1
See Oxford sense 6.
– Andrew Leach♦
4 hours ago
See Oxford sense 6.
– Andrew Leach♦
4 hours ago
You don't see it as much of late, but 20-30 years ago it would not be unusual to see, in the US, a sign hanging near the exit that said "Thank you -- Please call again".
– Hot Licks
1 hour ago
You don't see it as much of late, but 20-30 years ago it would not be unusual to see, in the US, a sign hanging near the exit that said "Thank you -- Please call again".
– Hot Licks
1 hour ago
add a comment |
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
One common, but older, usage of the word "call" is to "pay a visit." Usage is typically in a phrase like "Shall we call on Fred?" which would me "Shall we pay Fred a visit?"
In the case of "Do call again, madam." the shop is simply expressing their wish that madam returns to visit the shop again.
add a comment |
Your Answer
StackExchange.ready(function() {
var channelOptions = {
tags: "".split(" "),
id: "97"
};
initTagRenderer("".split(" "), "".split(" "), channelOptions);
StackExchange.using("externalEditor", function() {
// Have to fire editor after snippets, if snippets enabled
if (StackExchange.settings.snippets.snippetsEnabled) {
StackExchange.using("snippets", function() {
createEditor();
});
}
else {
createEditor();
}
});
function createEditor() {
StackExchange.prepareEditor({
heartbeatType: 'answer',
autoActivateHeartbeat: false,
convertImagesToLinks: false,
noModals: true,
showLowRepImageUploadWarning: true,
reputationToPostImages: null,
bindNavPrevention: true,
postfix: "",
imageUploader: {
brandingHtml: "Powered by u003ca class="icon-imgur-white" href="https://imgur.com/"u003eu003c/au003e",
contentPolicyHtml: "User contributions licensed under u003ca href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/"u003ecc by-sa 3.0 with attribution requiredu003c/au003e u003ca href="https://stackoverflow.com/legal/content-policy"u003e(content policy)u003c/au003e",
allowUrls: true
},
noCode: true, onDemand: true,
discardSelector: ".discard-answer"
,immediatelyShowMarkdownHelp:true
});
}
});
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f484734%2fuse-of-please-call-again-in-a-high-street-shop%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
1 Answer
1
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
active
oldest
votes
One common, but older, usage of the word "call" is to "pay a visit." Usage is typically in a phrase like "Shall we call on Fred?" which would me "Shall we pay Fred a visit?"
In the case of "Do call again, madam." the shop is simply expressing their wish that madam returns to visit the shop again.
add a comment |
One common, but older, usage of the word "call" is to "pay a visit." Usage is typically in a phrase like "Shall we call on Fred?" which would me "Shall we pay Fred a visit?"
In the case of "Do call again, madam." the shop is simply expressing their wish that madam returns to visit the shop again.
add a comment |
One common, but older, usage of the word "call" is to "pay a visit." Usage is typically in a phrase like "Shall we call on Fred?" which would me "Shall we pay Fred a visit?"
In the case of "Do call again, madam." the shop is simply expressing their wish that madam returns to visit the shop again.
One common, but older, usage of the word "call" is to "pay a visit." Usage is typically in a phrase like "Shall we call on Fred?" which would me "Shall we pay Fred a visit?"
In the case of "Do call again, madam." the shop is simply expressing their wish that madam returns to visit the shop again.
answered 6 hours ago
Patrick HughesPatrick Hughes
27814
27814
add a comment |
add a comment |
Thanks for contributing an answer to English Language & Usage Stack Exchange!
- Please be sure to answer the question. Provide details and share your research!
But avoid …
- Asking for help, clarification, or responding to other answers.
- Making statements based on opinion; back them up with references or personal experience.
To learn more, see our tips on writing great answers.
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
StackExchange.ready(
function () {
StackExchange.openid.initPostLogin('.new-post-login', 'https%3a%2f%2fenglish.stackexchange.com%2fquestions%2f484734%2fuse-of-please-call-again-in-a-high-street-shop%23new-answer', 'question_page');
}
);
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Sign up or log in
StackExchange.ready(function () {
StackExchange.helpers.onClickDraftSave('#login-link');
var $window = $(window),
onScroll = function(e) {
var $elem = $('.new-login-left'),
docViewTop = $window.scrollTop(),
docViewBottom = docViewTop + $window.height(),
elemTop = $elem.offset().top,
elemBottom = elemTop + $elem.height();
if ((docViewTop elemBottom)) {
StackExchange.using('gps', function() { StackExchange.gps.track('embedded_signup_form.view', { location: 'question_page' }); });
$window.unbind('scroll', onScroll);
}
};
$window.on('scroll', onScroll);
});
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Sign up using Google
Sign up using Facebook
Sign up using Email and Password
Post as a guest
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
Required, but never shown
2Z42P,HbY6U,vj Qr MVntaeFLQWDNhwdeSbrxoPpxNIeK6x9MVufE3lzysGN
1
See Oxford sense 6.
– Andrew Leach♦
4 hours ago
You don't see it as much of late, but 20-30 years ago it would not be unusual to see, in the US, a sign hanging near the exit that said "Thank you -- Please call again".
– Hot Licks
1 hour ago