Meaning of call an audible | Babel Free

Definitions

1. To change the play at the line of scrimmage by yelling out a new one.
2. To change plans at the last minute in response to new information.
   US, idiomatic

Examples

“Mr. Krosnick explained with the help of a football analogy. "If somebody called an audible, we'd be right there[…]It has always been that way. We never did that much planning. All the talk and analysis was intended to outline the parameters of our instincts."”

“"We will be calling audibles every time we come to the line," one participant recalls [Condoleezza Rice] saying to [Bush] then.”

“We found this insurgency much more virile than we expected, so we called an audible.”

“Based on that decoding process, we may need to call an audible and either fine-tune or change channels in an attempt to help teenagers decode our messages more accurately.”

“I reflected on what must have been their instructions, and what would have been the consequences for them of not following them, or of calling an audible, not a concept known in the North Korean foreign ministry.”

CEFR level