Regular bingo players will be familiar with bingo lingo, the language and terms used bby bingo callers traditionally in land based bingo clubs whereby numbers called are associated with a particular phrase such as Two Little Ducks = 22.
If you’ve ever wandered what bingo lingo is used for each number, then here’s the most common phrases associated with each bingo call.
| Number | Nickname | Explanation |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kelly’s Eye | The pun is military slang; possibly a reference to Ned Kelly, from Ned Kelly’s helmet, the eye slot resembling the number 1. Also after the Valiant comic strip “Kelly’s Eye” where the eponymous Kelly possessed a magic amulet. |
| 2 | One little duck. | From the resemblance of the number 2 to a duck; see ’22’ |
| Me and you | Romantic rhyme | |
| 3 | Cup of tea | Rhymes with “Three” |
| You and me | Romantic rhyme | |
| 4 | Knock at the door | Rhymes with “Four” |
| 5 | Man alive | Rhymes with “Five” |
| 6 | Tom Mix | Rhymes with “Six”. After Tom Mix, a star of silent-era Westerns |
| Half a dozen | A common phrase meaning six units (see “12” below) | |
| 7 | Lucky | 7 is considered a lucky number in some cultures |
| 8 | Garden gate | Rhymes with “Eight” |
| 9 | Brighton line | A reference to the British railway line running from London Victoria and London Bridge to Brighton |
| Doctor’s Orders | Number 9 was a laxative pill given out by army doctors in WWII. | |
| 10 | (Boris’s) Den | The name refers to whoever currently resides at Number 10 Downing Street. |
| 11 | Legs eleven | A reference to the shape of the number resembling a pair of legs, often chicken legs specifically. The players often wolf whistle in response. |
| 12 | One dozen | A reference to there being 12 units in one dozen. |
| 13 | Unlucky for some | A reference to 13 being an unlucky number. |
| 14 | The Lawnmower | The original lawnmower had a 14-inch blade. |
| 15 | Young and Keen | Fifteen rhymes with keen |
| 16 | Never been kissed | After the song Sweet Sixteen and Never Been Kissed |
| 17 | Dancing Queen | ABBA’s song Dancing Queen has the number mentioned in the lyrics. |
| 18 | Coming of Age | Eighteen is the age of maturity in the UK. |
| 19 | Goodbye Teens | Nineteen is the age after which people stop being teenagers. |
| 20 | One Score | A reference to there being 20 units in one score. |
| Getting Plenty | Rhymes with “Twenty” | |
| 21 | Key of the Door | The traditional age of majority. |
| 22 | Two little ducks | The numeral 22 resembles the profile of two ducks. Response is often “quack, quack, quack”. |
| 23 | The Lord is My Shepherd | The first words of Psalm 23 of the Old Testament |
| Thee and Me | Rhymes with 23 | |
| 24 | Two dozen | 12 × 2 = 24. See 12. |
| 25 | Duck and dive | Rhymes with “(Twenty) Five”, and is made up of a “2” – resembles a duck, and a “5” – resembles an upside-down “2”. |
| 26 | Two and six, half a crown | Pre-decimalised currency in the UK. (See half crown) |
| A to Z | A reference to the fact that there are twenty-six letters in the alphabet | |
| 27 | Duck and a crutch. | The number 2 looks like a duck (see ‘2’) and the number 7 looks like a crutch. |
| 28 | In a state. | “Two and eight” is rhyming slang for “state”. |
| Overweight | Rhymes with 28. | |
| 29 | Rise and Shine | Rhymes with “(Twenty) Nine” |
| 30 | Burlington Bertie | Reference to a music hall song of the same name composed in 1900, and a more famous parody (Burlington Bertie from Bow) written in 1915 specifically the line: “I’m Burlington Bertie I rise at ten-thirty”. |
| Dirty Gertie | Common rhyme derived from the given name Gertrude, used as a nickname for the statue La Delivrance installed in North London in 1927. The usage was reinforced by Dirty Gertie from Bizerte, a bawdy song sung by Allied soldiers in North Africa during the Second World War. | |
| 31 | Get Up and Run | Rhymes with “(Thirty) One” |
| 32 | Buckle My Shoe | Rhymes with “(Thirty) Two” |
| 33 | All the threes | |
| Fish, chips and peas | ||
| 34 | Ask for More | Rhymes with “(Thirty) Four” |
| 35 | Jump and Jive | A dance step |
| 36 | Triple dozen | 3 x 12 = 36. Refer to 12 above |
| 38 | Christmas cake | Cockney rhyming slang |
| 39 | Steps | From the 39 Steps |
| 40 | Life Begins | refers to the proverb ‘life begins at forty’ |
| 43 | down on your knees | This was a phrase that was made popular during wartime by soldiers. |
| 44 | Droopy drawers | Rhyme that refers to sagging trousers |
| 45 | Halfway there | Being halfway towards 90 |
| 46 | up to tricks | rhyming |
| 48 | Four Dozen | 4 x 12 = 48. Refer to 12 above. |
| 49 | PC | Refers to the BBC Radio series “The Adventures of PC 49”. Usual response is “Evening all”. |
| 50 | It’s a bullseye! | Referring to the darts score. |
| 5 – 0, 5 – 0, it’s off to work we go | Referring to Snow White | |
| 52 | Danny La Rue | A reference to drag entertainer Danny La Rue. Also used for other numbers ending in ‘2’ (see ’72’ below). |
| Chicken vindaloo | Introduced by Butlins in 2003. | |
| Deck of Cards | Number of cards in a deck | |
| 53 | Here comes Herbie | 53 is the racing number of Herbie the VW Beetle. Players may reply “beep beep”! |
| 54 | Man at the door | Rhymes with “(Fifty) Four” |
| 55 | All the fives | Ged Kelly |
| 56 | Shotts Bus | Refers to the former number of the bus from Glasgow to Shotts. |
| Was She Worth It? | This refers to the pre-decimal price of a marriage licence in Britain, 5/6d. The players shout back “Every Penny” | |
| 57 | Heinz Varieties | Refers to “Heinz 57”, the “57 Varieties” slogan of the H. J. Heinz Company. |
| 59 | The Brighton Line | Quote from The Importance of Being Earnest.Also, 59 was the starting 2 digits of all original Brighton telephone numbers[citation needed]. |
| 60 | Grandma’s getting frisky | Pretty close to a rhyme with ‘sixty’ |
| 62 | Tickety-boo | Rhymes with “(Sixty) Two” |
| 63 | Katie’s bad knee | Reference to the Warwickshire resident of the same name – local use only. |
| 64 | Almost retired | A reference to the former British male age of mandatory retirement – specifically being one year away from it. |
| 65 | Retirement age, Stop work | A reference to the former male British age of mandatory retirement. |
| 66 | Clickety click | Rhymes with “(Sixty) Six” |
| 67 | Stairway to Heaven | Coined by Andrew “CIP” Lavelle |
| 68 | Pick a Mate | Coined by Edward James Mackey II |
| 69 | Anyway up, Meal for Two, A Favourite of mine | A reference to the 69 sex position. |
| 71 | Bang on the Drum | Rhymes with “(Seventy) One” |
| 72 | Danny La Rue | Rhymes with “(Seventy) Two” |
| 73 | Queen Bee. Under The Tree. Lucky 3 | Rhymes with “(Seventy) Three” |
| 74 | Hit the Floor | Coined by Ann Fitzsimons |
| 76 | Trombones | “Seventy-Six Trombones” is a popular marching song, from the musical The Music Man. |
| 77 | Two little crutches | The number 77 resembles 2 little “Crutches” |
| Sunset Strip | From the 1960s television series “77 Sunset Strip”. Usually sung by the players. | |
| 78 | 39 more steps | 39 + 39 = 78. Refer to 39 being “39 steps” above. |
| 80 | Gandhi’s Breakfast | “Ate nothing” |
| 81 | Fat Lady with a walking stick | The number 8 is supposed to visually represent a lady with ample bosom and hips, while the number 1 is supposed to visually represent a walking stick |
| 83 | Time for Tea | Rhymes and scans |
| 84 | Seven dozen | 7 x 12 = 84. Refer to 12 being “a dozen” above |
| 85 | Staying alive | Rhymes with “(Eighty) Five” |
| 86 | Between the sticks | Rhymes with “(Eighty) Six”. Refers to the position of goalkeeper in football. |
| 87 | Torquay in Devon | Rhymes with “(Eighty) Seven”. Torquay which is in the county of Devon, rather than one of several other Torquays which were elsewhere in the British Empire. |
| 88 | Two Fat Ladies | The number 88 visually represents a lady next to another lady. Refer to 81 above. Players can reply with ‘Wobble, wobble.’ |
| 89 | Nearly there | 89 is one away from 90 (the end of the bingo numbers). |
| Almost there | ||
| 90 | Top of the shop | 90 is the highest (top) number in bingo. Shop refers to the entire game of bingo (and also rhymes with “top”). |
