Take Two and Call Me in the Morning – Meaning & Origin

“Take two and call me in the morning” is a phrase that seems really specific, and yet if you’re not familiar with the phrase, it might seem incredibly confusing as well. This article is going to explain what “take two and call me in the morning” means.

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning – Meaning

“Take two and call me in the morning” is an expression that refers to the idea that people call doctors for issues that they can just treat themselves. Therefore, the doctor in question would prescribe two aspirins and tell the person to give them a call tomorrow.

The idea behind this phrase is the fact that there are plenty of health situations that don’t need to be properly treated by a doctor, and that people can handle themselves with some medicine.

Whenever someone says “take two and call me in the morning” they’re referring to this idea of doctors helping people who don’t really need to be helped by a doctor.

How to Use “Take Two and Call Me in the Morning” in a Sentence

“Take two and call me in the morning” is unarguably confusing if you don’t know what it means, but once you understand what it means, using it in sentences is quite easy. Here are some example sentences to demonstrate this fact:

1. Take two of these and call me in the morning, we’ll see how you feel then.
2. Don’t worry, relax, please breathe, now take 2 and call me in the morning.
3. So here’s what we’re going to do: Take two aspirin and call me in the morning.
4. Do you remember that commercial that said “take two and call me in the morning”?
5. I know you feel really bad but for now just take two and call me in the morning.
6. Hey, don’t fret, here’s what you do: You take two and call me in the morning.
7. Just take 2 and call me in the morning, we’ll sort it out when we have that conversation.

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning – Origin

Back in the middle of the 20th century, the norm was that doctors were on call 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. So people would call them for small issues at unreasonable hours. For this, doctors would reply “take two and call me in the morning”.

This quickly evolved into a common joke at the time, as the doctor would tell the person to take two of something (most commonly aspiring) knowing that they’d be fine come the morning.

There’s a classic Bob Newhart joke where he played with this format by making the doctor a witch doctor who suggested a mud and leaves based treatment until the morning.

Use Of “Take Two And Call Me In The Morning” In Crossword Puzzles

The phrase “take two and call me in the morning” became such a common pop culture reference that it’s actually been a clue in the New York Times crossword puzzle several times, for the word “aspirin”. The last time that this happened was in the year 2019.

Of course, the vague nature of the phrase means that it’s perfect as a clue for different medications that might fit the bill of something a doctor might prescribe at night.

Correct Ways to Say “Take Two and Call Me in the Morning”

As it became a pop culture staple, there are several ways for someone to phrase “take two and call me in the morning” without any issues. Here are some correct ways to say “take two and call me in the morning”:

• Take a few and call me in the morning.
• Take a lot and call me in the morning.
• Take some of these and call me tomorrow.
• Take three and call me tomorrow.

Incorrect Ways to Use “Take Two and Call Me in the Morning”

“Take two and call me in the morning” is an expression that should be used to talk about the medicinal cliche of doctors being bothered for trivial things. You shouldn’t use it to talk about important medical treatments, as that’s missing the point of the gag in the first place.

Therefore when using the phrase it’s important to remember that it refers to trivial things that will most likely be fixed when the morning comes, hence the suggestion to just take a pill and sleep.

In What Situations Can You Use “Take Two and Call Me in the Morning”?

“Take two and call me in the morning” is a good phrase to use as a reference whenever people seem to be dealing with medical issues that they consider to be incredibly major, but are actually not that big of a deal and most likely temporary.

So if someone approaches you telling you that they’re certain that they’re gravely ill because of a headache, you can tell them to take two and call you in the morning.