call in (one's) chips
1. To die. "Chips" are small discs used to represent money in some betting games, like poker. We were so lucky to avoid that massive accident—we could have called in our chips!
2. To sell one's belongings and/or financial assets in order to make money quickly. Yeah, I sold that vintage guitar last month—I had to call in my chips to pay rent.
call in your chips
mainly BRITISHIf you call in your chips, you decide to use your influence or social connections in order to gain an advantage over other people. Note: In the following expressions `chips' are the coloured tokens or counters which are used to represent money in casinos. The President's friends in the steel and textile industries may try to call in their chips. Note: In gambling, if you call in your chips, you ask people to pay you all the money that they owe you.