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Do not call us, we will call you
Do not call us, we will call you
Do not call us, we will call you : Phrases
Meaning:
Don't bother to pursue your application further.
Origin:
A fuller version of this phrase would be 'Don't call us, we'll call you - if we need to'. Of course, anyone hearing this line can reasonably expect not to need to wait by the phone. It is a quite recent phrase - mid 20th century American, and appears to derive from the brush-off lines given to theatrical auditioners. The earliest citation I've come across is the East Liverpool Review (Ohio), 1952:
"Hollywood has a word - or two - for it ... Everyone has heard the brushoff line: 'Don't call us. We'll call you.'"
It is sufficiently clichéd now to be often shortened to "don't call us" and widespread enough to be used as a term of rejection in a variety of circumstances.