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
Julie in Fort Pierce, Florida, recalls that on sweltering days her mother would declare the weather was hotter than Billy Blue Blazes! The word blazes is a euphemism for “hell,” as in hot as blazes. The blue in blue blazes has long been used as an...
In 1916, a small-town newspaper in Pennsylvania printed a fanciful item about a local gathering with a guest list that included, among others, Miss Ella Vader, Mr. Ray Zor, and other punny names. This is part of a complete episode. Transcript of...
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.