I remember looking in the card catalogue of the main Public Library under "Homosexuality" and not daring to call up the books because "they" might think I was one.1976 April 17, A. Nolder Gay, “The View from the Closet”, in Gay Community News, page 13:
The Emoji Movie takes place in “Textopolis,” where emojis maintain their assigned expression with no deviation, waiting to be called up for their on-screen appearance as needed.2017 July 27, Tony Leondis, “The Emoji Movie is Inside Out crossed with a Sony commercial and dunked in toxic ooze”, in The Onion AV Club:
2
To summon (someone) to report for military service.
“I don’t know if I’ll go to war or not, I don’t know what process the guys who are being called up are going through,” he wrote. “At the moment, our army is fully coping with the offensives of Russian soldiers and equipment.”2022 March 4, John Branch, “He Won an Olympic Silver for Ukraine. Now He’s Hiding in a Kyiv Garage.”, in The New York Times:
3
To select e.g. to a sports squad.
Dean Ashton was called up to the England squad for the first time.
You take that book Of Human Bondage, by Somerset Maugham, though. I read it last summer. It’s a pretty good book and all, but I wouldn’t want to call Somerset Maugham up. I don’t know. He just isn't the kind of a guy I'd want to call up, that's all.1951 July 16, J[erome] D[avid] Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye, Boston, Mass.: Little, Brown and Company, →OCLC, page 25:
The other night, you wouldn't believe The dream I just had about you and me I called you up, but we both agree It's for the best you didn't listen2012, Jeff Bhasker, Nate Ruess, Andrew Dost, Jack Antonoff, “Some Nights”, in Some Nights), performed by fun.:
Fly-half Aaron Cruden hyper-extended his knee horribly in contact and was carried off the pitch, forcing Graham Henry to bring on Donald - a man who was fishing for whitebait a fortnight ago before injuries to Dan Carter and Colin Slade triggered his emergency call-up.2011 October 23, Tom Fordyce, “2011 Rugby World Cup final: New Zealand 8-7 France”, in BBC Sport:
In addition, the call-up placed an enormous strain on the nation's railroads, suddenly faced with having to provide hundreds of trains to rush guardsmen to the border.2015, Charles H. Harris, Louis R. Sadler, The Great Call-Up, page 6:
2 more examples
Cristiano Ronaldo’s eldest son has earned his first call-up for the Portugal Under-15 national squad, the team announced on Tuesday.2025 May 7, Ben Morse, “‘Proud of you’: Cristiano Ronaldo’s eldest son earns first call-up for Portugal Under-15 national team”, in CNN:
There will be financial and other incentives to encourage voluntary recruitment, but if that fails to find the numbers a compulsory nationwide call-up will be reconsidered.2025 November 13, Kate Connolly, “Germany decides against conscription to replenish post-cold war military”, in The Guardian: