Green’s Dictionary of Slang

to scold, to reprimand.

1883		‘The Jolly Vaquero’ in Lingenfelter et al. Songs of the Amer. West (1968) 337: He’ll wack up’ his blankets, or share his ‘grub’ – / No need of ‘calling him down’.
1895		E. Townsend Chimmie Fadden Explains 12: De Duchess she calls me down hard.
1908		H. Green Maison De Shine 62: Whadda you mean by callin’ me down at the table in front of them dubs?
1914		M. Glass Potash and Perlmutter 22: He started right away to call Barney down for going home early the day before.
1925		T. Thursday ‘It’s Great to be Great’ in Top-Notch Mag. 15 July 🌐 When I took the liberty to call ’em down [...] they smiled superiorly and suggested that I find the nearest exit.
1935		C. Odets Waiting for Lefty Act V: I’m not calling you down either.
1941		J.M. Cain Mildred Pierce (1985) 526: She was in a gloomy, irritable humour going home, and several times called Tommy down for driving too fast.
1952		J. Jones From Here to Eternity (1998) 213: Stark called Willard down about the breakfast eggs.
1969		B. Beckham My Main Mother 68: You call us down for no reason.
1971		J. Mandelkau Buttons 155: I cornered him. Argued, spat, called him down and he hit me.
1984		W.D. Myers Outside Shot 137: [A] lot of them would be trying to jive the professor [...] and he would call them down for it.