call calf-rope
v. phr.— «“I said I wasn’t going to say anything about the rain, but at this point I am about ready to call calf-rope,” said Kerens Grain’s Sonny Carpenter, using a term meaning, “I give up,” similar to calling “uncle.”» —“Inside the Golden Circle: Rain, rain…“ by Raymond Linex II Corsicana Daily Sun (Texas) June 15, 2007. (source: Double-Tongued Dictionary)
Further reading
Ashley from Berea, Kentucky, wonders about her father’s use of nords, apparently to mean “in other words.” This is part of a complete episode.
Related
A Francophone who’s feeling low might say so with J’ai le moral dans les chaussettes. The idiom avoir le moral dans les chaussettes means “to have morale in your socks.” This is part of a complete episode.
Related
Barry Popik’s web site has several citations for this phrase and some of its variants, here:
http://tinyurl.com/3e37vo
There’s also an entry for it at PBS.org, from their “Do You Speak American?” site:
http://tinyurl.com/yram2k
Thanks! The Dictionary of American Regional English has a full entry for it that takes it back to 1878 and shows that it’s very regional, primarily found in the Gulf states and the South Midlands.