Select the option that best expresses the meaning of the idiom or phrase: Call it a day.

Introduction / Context:

In informal English, the idiom call it a day is frequently used in workplaces, schools, and casual conversations. Idioms like this do not mean what their individual words might suggest to a literal reader. Instead, they carry a fixed, figurative meaning that speakers recognise as a unit. Here the exam tests whether you know what people mean when they decide to call it a day at work or during an activity.

Given Data / Assumptions:

- The idiom is Call it a day.

- The options are: to start a job wishing for success, to take a break or a holiday, assign different days to different tasks, and to declare the end of a task.

- Typically, the idiom appears when someone decides to stop working for the moment or for the rest of that day.

- We assume standard conversational English usage.

Concept / Approach:

Call it a day means to decide to stop working on something, usually because enough has been done or because continuing would not be useful. It does not normally refer to long holidays or the beginning of tasks. The idea is that the current period of effort is over. Among the options, to declare the end of a task best matches this sense of formally or informally deciding that work is finished for now.

Step-by-Step Solution:

Verification / Alternative check:

Consider the sentence We have done enough coding for today, let us call it a day. If we replace the idiom with to declare the end of a task, the sense remains the same: We have done enough coding, so we declare this work finished for today. Replacing it with to take a break or a holiday would suggest that work may continue soon or that a long vacation is being planned, which changes the meaning. This comparison confirms that declaring the end of a task is the correct paraphrase.

Why Other Options Are Wrong:

To start a job wishing for success is wrong because it refers to the beginning of an activity, while call it a day refers to stopping. To take a break or a holiday is wrong because a break may be short and a holiday may be long, but the idiom focuses on finishing work for the present, not on resting. Assign different days to different tasks is wrong because it refers to scheduling, which is unrelated to the idea of ending work.

Common Pitfalls:

A common pitfall is to confuse call it a day with take a day off or go on holiday, which refer more clearly to rest and absence rather than simply declaring work complete. Another error is to over analyse the literal words call and day. The safest approach is to learn idioms as complete units and to link them with short paraphrases you can recall quickly under exam conditions.

Final Answer:

The idiom call it a day means to declare the end of a task or to decide to stop working for the present.