call [OE] Call appears in Old English from an Old Norse root, but recall ‘call back’ does not appear until the late 16th century. To call the shots or call the tune [L17th] is to dictate how something should be done. Call the tune is a shortening of he who pays the piper calls the tune, only recorded from the late 19th century. Call the shots, not recorded before the 1920s, is from sports and games. In pool to call your shots is to say in advance which ball you intend to hit into which pocket. In target shooting it means to announce which part of the target you are going to hit; if someone else calls the shots you have to aim at the bit they choose.