Communication
call a timeout
ask to pause briefly
To call a timeout means to ask everyone to stop an activity for a short time.
Hear it in real life
The children are getting too tired.
Right, let's call a timeout and give them some juice.
We have been arguing for twenty minutes, so I am calling a timeout.
The mistake everyone makes
Not: Let's call for a timeout and get some water.
Say: Let's call a timeout and get some water.
For this fixed expression, use "call a timeout," not the different pattern "call for a timeout."
Build it
How it fits in a sentence.
call a timeout; let's call a timeout
Your turn: say it out loud
We have been arguing for twenty minutes, so I am calling a timeout.
Say it out loud two or three times, until it feels like yours.
call a timeout
ask to pause briefly
“We have been arguing for twenty minutes, so I am calling a timeout.”
heytardy
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