Bingo Balls Numbers

(Redirected from Bingo (US))
Bingo
Years active1920s to present
Language(s)English
Random chanceExtremely high
Age rangeVaries

Bingo is a great game that is popular around the world. If you are looking to get bingo numbers online this generator will be just what you have been looking for. This generator is the classic version of Bingo and contains five rows of 15 numbers ranging from 1 to 90. To begin playing click the green button and the first number will be displayed. To keep track of the games progress the last five balls and which column they are in is displayed as well as a Bingo. If you are looking to get bingo numbers online this generator will be just what you have been looking for. This generator is the classic version of Bingo and contains five rows of 15 numbers ranging from 1 to 90. To begin playing click the green button and the first number will be displayed. Eyes down its Bingo Time!! Before you begin lets customize your game! Choose between numbers 1-75 or 1-90. You can have sound effects, to add to the atmosphere as each ball is called. Choose cards with median numbers. The Tippett theory suggests that more numbers that are called in a wheel-of-balls bingo game, the more those numbers will gravitate towards the middle. If you can, look for bingo cards with more numbers toward the median. In a game that goes from 1-99, the median would be 45. With a chance at two progressive jackpots, our Grande Bingo Progressive is the best way to win big. Grande Bingo starts at $10,000 and 53 numbers, and increases by one number every 10 days until it hits or reaches 56 numbers. At just $1 per game, play as many games as you’d like and be prepared to shout “bingo!” Grande Bingo Progressive.

In the United States, bingo is a game of chance in which each player matches numbers printed in different arrangements on cards with the numbers the game host (caller) draws at random, marking the selected numbers with tiles. When a player finds the selected numbers are arranged on their card in a row, they call out 'Bingo!' to alert all participants to a winning card, which prompts the game host (or an associate assisting the host) to examine the card for verification of the win. Players compete against one another to be the first to have a winning arrangement for the prize or jackpot. After a winner is declared, the players clear their number cards of the tiles and the game host begins a new round of play.

Alternative methods of play try to increase participation by creating excitement. Since its invention in 1929, modern bingo has evolved into multiple variations, with each jurisdiction's gambling laws regulating how the game is played. There are also nearly unlimited patterns that may be specified for play. Some games require only one number to be matched, while cover-all games award the jackpot for covering an entire card. There are even games that award prizes to players for matching no numbers or achieving no pattern.

Bingo cards[edit]

The most common Bingo cards are flat pieces of cardboard or disposable paper which contain 25 squares arranged in five vertical columns and five side to side rows. Each space in the grid contains a number, except the middle square, which is designated a 'Free' space.

A typical Bingo game utilizes the numbers 1 through 75. The five columns of the card are labeled 'B', 'I', 'N', 'G', and 'O' from left to right. The center space is usually marked 'Free' or 'Free Space', and is considered automatically filled. The range of printed numbers that can appear on the card is normally restricted by column, with the 'B' column only containing numbers between 1 and 15 inclusive, the 'I' column containing only 16 through 30, 'N' containing 31 through 45, 'G' containing 46 through 60, and 'O' containing 61 through 75.

The number of all possible Bingo cards with these standard features is P(15,5) × P(15,5) × P(15,5) × P(15,5) × P(15,4) = 552,446,474,061,128,648,601,600,000 or approximately 5.52×1026.

In U-Pick 'Em bingo and other variants of bingo, players are issued three 25 number cards which contain all 75 numbers that may be drawn. Players then mark which numbers they wish to play and then daub those numbers according to the numbers drawn. In addition, double-action cards have two numbers in each square.

A player wins by completing a row, column, or diagonal. The most chips one can place on a Bingo board without having a Bingo is 19, not counting the free space. In order for this to happen, only one empty cell can reside in each row and each column, and at least one empty cell must be in each diagonal, for instance:

BINGO

In addition to a straight line, other patterns may be considered a valid bingo in special games. For example, in the illustration above, the 2×2 square of marked squares in the upper-right-hand corner would be considered a 'postage stamp'. Another common special game requires players to cover the four corners. There are several other patterns, such as a Roving 'L', which requires players to cover all B's and top or bottom row or all O's and top or bottom row. Another common pattern is a blackout, covering all 24 numbers and the free space.

Equipment[edit]

The numbers that are called in a game of bingo may be drawn utilizing a variety of methods to randomly generate the ball call. With the expansion of computer technology in bingo, electronic random number generators (RNG) are now commonplace in most jurisdictions. However, some jurisdictions require mechanical ball draws which may utilize a randomly shuffled deck of bingo calling cards, a mechanical ball blower that mixes ping pong balls with blown air or a cage which is turned to mix small wooden balls. All methods essentially generate a random string of numbers which players match to their bingo cards that have numbers on them.

Culture[edit]

Bingo game on Labor Day in Sheffield, Vermont.

Single games often have multiple bingos; for example, the players first play for a single line; after that, play goes on until a full card is called; then, play continues for a consolation full card.

Players often play multiple cards for each game; 30 is not an unusual number. Because of the large numbers of cards played by each player, most halls have the players sit at tables to which they often fasten their cards with adhesive tape. To mark cards faster the players usually use special markers called daubers. At commercial halls, after calling the number the caller then displays the next number on a television monitor; bingo cannot be called until that number is called aloud, however.

Bingo is often used as an instructional tool in American schools and in teaching English as a foreign language in many countries. Typically, the numbers are replaced with beginning reader words, pictures, or unsolved math problems. Custom bingo creation programs now allow teachers and parents to create bingo cards using their own content.

Terminology[edit]

Ready/Waiting/Cased/Set/Down/Chance/Shot/Pat – A player who only needs one number in order to complete the Bingo pattern is considered to have a Shot or be Ready, Waiting, Cased, Set, or Down, or to 'have a chance'.

Breaking the Bubble or 'Possible' – The bubble is the minimum number of balls required to complete the Bingo pattern. This is the earliest point any player could have a valid bingo. Example: Winning pattern is 1 hard way bingo, a straight line without the free space. The minimum number of called numbers is five (four if each number is under 'N') although it is not considered Breaking the Bubble or possible until one number in each column or four/five numbers in a single column have been called.

Jumping the Gun/Premature Bingo – One who calls bingo before having a valid bingo. The most common situation is someone calling bingo using the next number in the screen before it has been called.

Wild numbers – Many bingo halls will have certain games with a wild number. Wild numbers allow bingo players to start with multiple called numbers. Typically the first ball drawn is the determining factor.

Standard – All numbers ending with the second digit of the first number. Example: First ball is 22. All numbers ending in a 2 including B2 is considered a called number.

Forwards/backwards – All numbers beginning or ending with the wild number. Example: First ball is 22. All numbers beginning or ending with a 2 is considered a called number. If the first number ends with an 8, 9, or 0, another number may be drawn as there are no numbers starting with an 8 or 9 and only 9 numbers starting with a 0. Some halls will also redraw a number ending with a 7 as there are only six numbers beginning with a 7.

False Alarm or Just Practicing – Tongue-in-cheek term used when one calls bingo but is mistaken. This could be because of mishearing the caller or stamping the wrong number by mistake. One who calls a 'falsie' genuinely believes he/she has a bingo.This is also known as a 'social error.' Another term used for this is a 'bongo.'

Hard Way Bingo – A hard-way bingo is a bingo pattern in a straight line without the use of the free space.

Reach - In Japan, a player will yell 'Reach' when he/she is one space away from a bingo.[1]

History[edit]

A bingo winner in Montreal, Quebec in 1941

A lottery game called 'Il Giuoco del Lotto d'Italia' was being played in Italy by about 1530. In eighteenth-century France playing cards, tokens and the calling out of numbers were added. In the nineteenth century a game like this was widely played in Germany to teach children spelling, animal names and multiplication tables.

The French game Le Lotto appeared in 1778, featuring 27 squares in a layout of three rows and nine columns. Five squares in each row had numbers ranging from 1 through 90, which led to the modern design.[2]

In the early 1920s, Hugh J. Ward created and standardized the game at carnivals in and around Pittsburgh and the Western Pennsylvania area. He copyrighted it and published a rule book in 1933.[3][4][better source needed]

The game was further popularized by Edwin Lowe. While at a traveling carnival near Atlanta in December 1929 the toy merchandiser saw people eagerly playing a game called 'Beano' following Ward's rules, with dried beans, a rubber stamp, and cardboard sheets. Lowe took the game to New York where friends liked playing it. The Lowe-produced Bingo game had two versions, a 12-card set for $1.00 and a $2.00 set with 24 cards. By the 1940s there were Bingo games throughout the US.

The origin of the name Bingo is unknown but may date to the middle 1920s. There are claims that one of Lowe's friends[5] was so excited to have won that she yelled out 'Bingo' instead of 'Beano,' or that the word echoes the sound of a bell.

The business of bingo[edit]

In the US, the game is primarily staged by churches or charity organizations. Their legality and stakes vary by state regulation. In some states, bingo halls are rented out to sponsoring organizations, and such halls often run games almost every day. Church-run games, however, are normally weekly affairs held on the church premises. These games are usually played for modest stakes, although the final game of a session is frequently a coverall game that offers a larger jackpot prize for winning within a certain quantity of numbers called, and a progressive jackpot is one that may increase per session until it is won.

Bingo parlors in Buenos Aires, Argentina, where the game has become quite popular in the last twenty years

Commercial bingo games in the US are primarily offered by casinos (and then only in the state of Nevada), and by Native American bingo halls, which are often housed in the same location as Native American-run casinos. In Nevada, bingo is offered mainly by casinos that cater to local gamblers, and not the famous tourist resorts. They usually offer one-hour sessions, on the odd hours, e.g. 9am, 11am, 1pm daily, typically from 9am through 11pm, with relatively modest stakes except for coverall jackpots. Station Casinos, a chain of locals-oriented casinos in Las Vegas, offers a special game each session, called 'Jumbo' that ties all of its properties together with a large progressive jackpot. Most Bingo parlors in Las Vegas use hand held machines on which the games are played, except the Station Casino, the Fiesta Casino which has paper bingo cards and no machines. Native American games are typically offered for only one or two sessions a day, and are often played for higher stakes than charity games in order to draw players from distant places. Some also offer a special progressive jackpot game that may tie together players from multiple bingo halls.

As well as bingo played in house, the larger commercial operators play some games linked by telephone across several, perhaps dozens, of their clubs. This increases the prize money, but reduces the chance of winning; both due to the greater number of players.

Bingo halls are sometimes linked together (as by Loto Quebec in Canada) in a network to provide alternative winning structures and bigger prizes.

Bingo is also the basis for online games sold through licensed lotteries. Tickets are sold as for other numbers games, and the players get receipts with their numbers arranged as on a regular bingo card. The daily or weekly draw is normally broadcast on television. These games offer higher prizes and are more difficult to win.

The bingo logic is frequently used on scratch card games. The numbers are pre-drawn for each card and hidden until the card is scratched. In lotteries with online networks the price is electronically confirmed to avoid fraud based on physical fixing.

Some gay bars and other LGBT-oriented organizations in both Canada and the United States also stage bingo events, commonly merged with a drag show and billed as 'Drag Bingo' or 'Drag Queen Bingo'.[6] 'Drag Bingo' events were first launched in Seattle in the early 1990s as a fundraiser for local HIV/AIDS charities.[6] They have since expanded to many other cities across North America, supporting a diverse range of charities.[6]

Bingo has gone beyond a fundraising role and is often featured in bars and nightclubs as a social and entertainment event, attracting a loyal following of regular players. Many venues promote a bingo event to attract customers at off-peak times, such as weeknights and Sundays, which are traditionally slower for such businesses. The games are called by drag and non-drag hosts alike and often include ancillary activities such as cabaret shows, contests and other themed activities that add interest and encourage audience participation. Customers are invited to play for a chance to win cash and other prizes.

With one bingo hall for every 6,800 residents, Cheektowaga, New York is believed to have the highest concentration of bingo halls in the United States. The suburb of Buffalo's large Polish-AmericanCatholic population is believed to be a factor for bingo's outsized popularity in Western New York, which has five times as many bingo halls per capita as the rest of the state.[7]

Variations[edit]

U-Pick'Em bingo[edit]

A common form of bingo which allows players to mark the numbers they wish to monitor for a win. While this game closely resembles Keno, a game invented in China which predates the Han Dynasty, it is recognized as a variant of bingo and is permitted in almost all jurisdictions.[citation needed]

Shotgun Bingo[edit]

Also known as Quickie Bingo, Turbo Bingo and similar names, these games are often played in between regular games with cards sold separately from the main game package. Players typically only play one or two cards and the numbers are called as quickly as the bingo balls come out.[citation needed]

Quick Shot bingo[edit]

A game where numbers are pre-drawn and players purchase sealed bingo cards which are then matched against the pre-drawn numbers. If a specified pattern is achieved, then the player usually wins a prize according to a prize table. Some versions are played until a player achieves a top level prize and then new numbers are drawn and the game begins anew. This type of bingo may be played over days, weeks or months depending on the difficulty of achieving a top level prize.[citation needed]

Bonanza bingo[edit]

Typically 43 to 48 numbers are pre-drawn at the beginning of a bingo session. The numbers pre-drawn can be odd, even or the first 43 numbers that pop out the machine. Players purchase cards and mark out all even, odd or pre-drawn numbers. At a designated time, the caller asks if anyone has bingo. If no one does, the caller then draws one ball at a time until someone shouts bingo. This game is sometimes played as a 'progressive' game, where the jackpot increases if no one hits bingo before the desired number of balls are called. If no one has achieved bingo before or on the desired ball count then the game is played again in another session in which the desired ball count increases by one and the jackpot is increased also. The player who hits bingo after the desired ball count does not win the jackpot but does win a consolation prize. If a player does hit bingo in the right number of numbers then they win all the money in the jackpot. The ball count goes back to 43 after the jackpot is won and the ball count increases by one until the jackpot is won again.[citation needed]

Facebook bingo[edit]

Bingo on Facebook differs from traditional online or land based bingo games. Most games feature 'power-ups' which give individual players an advantage on winning the game when using such power-ups. Players can also collect, buy and share virtual items with friends on the Facebook platform. This adds to the community element which is otherwise not experienced in other forms of online and land-based bingo.[citation needed]

Horse racing bingo[edit]

Bingo Balls Numbers

Up to 15 players are randomly issued a number from 1 to 15 which corresponds with the top row of the bingo flashboard. Numbers are then drawn and the first person to have all five numbers in their column be drawn wins. This is a fast-paced and exciting form of bingo typically played in fraternal organizations.[citation needed]

Table bingo[edit]

With the expansion of Tribal gaming across the US, there are numerous versions of bingo which now emulate the fast action of casino like table games but utilize the principals of bingo where players mark and monitor matrices cards with chips. Casino games like Roulette, Acey Duecy and Money Wheel have bingo counterparts that are permitted to be played under bingo licenses in many parts of the country.[citation needed]

Electronic bingo[edit]

Bingo machines

The advent of computer technology in bingo has blurred the lines between traditional slot machines and bingo slot machines. To the average person, bingo-based slot machines are physically indistinguishable from an RNG based slot machine typically seen in Atlantic City or Las Vegas. These devices are commonly called Class II machines, because the federal Indian Gaming Regulatory Act separated bingo, including electronic and mechanical aids, where players play against each other, from Class III slot machines, where player play against the house.[citation needed]

As a result of the passage of SB1180 in 2017, the State of Arizona now allows technological aids for bingo games that functions only as an electronic substitute for bingo cards. These technological aids are not defined by Arizona law or regulation, but one such electronic technological aid consists of a system which includes a network linking player interfaces to a number drawing device (ball-draw server) and an electronic substitute for a 'live' cashier. The player interfaces themselves do not contain random number generators or allow a player to directly deposit cash. Rather, the Arizona technological aid system allows a player to deposit money into a unique individual player's account, pay for the games played out of that account, and at the end of play redeposit the value of any unused games that player may have purchased or won back into that account. The system does not allow the player to print a redemption ticket or receive anything of value directly from the player interface. In Arizona this system is only legally available for use by fraternal organizations, by service organization such as the VFW, American Legion or Amvets, or non-profits such as hospice or volunteer fire departments.

Death bingo[edit]

An inverted game where a player that gets a bingo is eliminated and knocked out of the game. The winner is the player who fills out the most spaces on their board before getting a bingo.[citation needed]

Other forms[edit]

  • Buzzword bingo (also called bullshit bingo)[citation needed]
  • Bossy bingo, in which a bovine's defecation is used to draw the numbers[citation needed]
  • Lingo, a game show incorporating Bingo mechanics and five-letter words
  • Slingo, an online game that blends slots and bingo
  • Pinoy Bingo Night, a game show in the Philippines with Kris Aquino on ABS-CBN.
  • Bingo America, a bingo-based viewer-participation game show on GSN
  • National Bingo Night, a bingo-based viewer participation game show on ABC that ended in 2007[8]

Themed variants of the traditional game include drag queen bingo, punk rock bingo, and beach blanket bingo.[9]

See also[edit]

  • Online bingo, Bingo played on the Internet
  • Screeno, Bingo played by movie audience members

References[edit]

  1. ^'Not Your Mother's Bingo'. Gaijin Chronicles. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
  2. ^'History Of Bingo Games - Details About Bingos Past'. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  3. ^['https://www.tripsavvy.com/pittsburgh-facts-and-firsts-2706998' First Bingo Game (early 1920s) -- Pittsburgh, PA]
  4. ^['http://popularpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-firsts/' In the 1920s, Bingo was born in Pittsburgh]
  5. ^'History of Bingo'. strangelife.com. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
  6. ^ abcKiviat, Barbara (2 May 2007). 'How Drag Queens Took Over Bingo'. Time. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
  7. ^Mahoney, Bill (November 28, 2017). Bingo loyalists rolled by new state restriction. Politico. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
  8. ^'National Bingo Night - TV.com'. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
  9. ^'Drag Queen Bingo - Five15'. Retrieved 3 November 2014.

External links[edit]

Retrieved from 'https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Bingo_(American_version)&oldid=1005139950'

If you’ve ever played or watched bingo in a traditional bingo hall or even just dabbled in some online bingo you may have noticed that there are some strange bingo names that you simply don’t understand. Calling bingo numbers out isn’t as simple as just 1, 2, 3… and you weren’t mistaken if you think you may have heard something about little ducks or Winnie the pooh.

How is modern bingo played?

Before we get to the bingo terms, we thought that we’d quickly go over the basics of bingo to refresh your memories or show you what it’s about if you’ve never played before.

There are different kinds of bingo that can be played, but on a whole, it is played by crossing off the numbers that are on your ticket when they are called out. You win the game if you cross off all the numbers on your ticket before anyone else.

The type of game, such as a 90 ball or 75 ball, that you are taking part in will decide the amount of numbers that you have on your ticket. The amount of numbers on your ticket will be the same amount that can be called out by the bingo callers.

Don’t be confused by the ‘balls’ in the name of your game either, it’s simply due to the fact that the numbers being called out used to be printed onto balls. However, with the invention of bingo sites, almost all the bingo balls are generated electronically.

Bingo Lingo Number

Back to the “Bingo Lingo”. Bingo numbers are often called out in traditional bingo rhymes. If you’re new to online bingo, it may be a tad confusing hearing “Two Fat Ladies” or other modern abbreviations and bingo sayings. However, don’t be alarmed if your fellow bingo players start using strange terms; bingo is a very sociable game and you simply just have to get to grips with the bingo slang meaning and you’ll find yourself understanding in no time.

How did the rhymes originate?

Most of the bingo terms associated with the numbers are rhymes. They were originally used in London in the mid-20th century, where they were used to pass on secret or hidden messages. These rhymes were very quickly picked up by bingo players who used them in the bingo halls to ensure that all 90 letters could be clarified easily when called out. In a big hall, the number 15 and 50 could sound very similar, so they adopted these rhymes/nicknames in order to distinctly tell letter apart. As the use of these nicknames spread, they changed from place to place and some new bingo sayings were added.

Here is a complete list of the bingo slang meaning with regards to the numbers and other strange words that you might come across if you play bingo online or in person.

Bingo Calls: The complete list

1 – Kelly’s eye46 – Up to tricks
2 – One little duck47 – Four and seven
3 – Cup of tea48 – Four dozen
4 – Knock at the door49 – PC
5 – Man alive50 – Half a century
6 – Tom Mix/Half a dozen51 – Tweak of the thumb
7 – Lucky seven52 – Danny La Rue
8 – Garden gate53 – Here comes Herbie/Stuck in a tree
9 – Doctor’s orders54 – Clean the floor
10 – [Prime Minister’s name]’s den55 – Snakes alive
11 – Legs eleven56 – Shotts Bus
12 – One dozen57 – Heinz varieties
13 – Unlucky for some58 – Make them wait
14 – Valentine’s Day59 – Brighton Line
15 – Young and keen60 – Five dozen
16 – Sweet 16 and never been kissed61 – Baker’s bun
17 – Dancing queen62 – Turn the screw/Tickety-boo
18 – Coming of age63 – Tickle me 63
19 – Goodbye teens64 – Red raw
20 – One score65 – Old age pension
21 – Royal salute/Key of the door66 – Clickety click
22 – Two little ducks67 – Stairway to heaven
23 – Thee and me68 – Saving Grace
24 – Two dozen69 – Favourite of mine
25 – Duck and dive70 – Three score and ten
26 – Pick and mix71 – Bang on the drum
27 – Gateway to heaven72 – Six dozen
28 – In a state/Over weight73 – Queen bee
29 – Rise and shine74 – Hit the floor
30 – Dirty Gertie75 – Strive and strive
31 – Get up and run76 – Trombones
32 – Buckle my shoe77 – Sunset strip
33 – Dirty knee/All the threes/Fish, chips & peas78 – 39 more steps
34 – Ask for more79 – One more time
35 – Jump and jive80 – Eight and blank
36 – Three dozen81 – Stop and run
37 – More than eleven82 – Straight on through
38 – Christmas cake83 – Time for tea
39 – 39 steps84 – Seven dozen
40 – Life begins85 – Staying alive
41 – Time for fun86 – Between the sticks
42 – Winnie the Pooh87 – Torquay in Devon
43 – Down on your knees88 – Two fat ladies
44 – Droopy drawers89 – Nearly there
45 – Halfway there90 – Top of the shop

Bingo number names

1 – Kelly’s eye

This bingo saying could be a reference to Ned Kelly, one of Australia’s greatest folk heroes – but many think it’s just military slang.

2 – One little duck

The number 2 looks just like a little duckling!

3 – Cup of tea

Because the British are particularly fond of tea and purely because it rhymes. Put the kettle on then!

4 – Knock at the door

Who’s there?! This phrase rhymes with the number 4.

5 – Man alive

Another great bingo calling sheet rhyme.

6 – Tom Mix/Half a dozen

Tom Mix was America’s first Western Star, appearing in 291 films. His legend lives on in this rhyming bingo call. A dozen is 12 and half of 12 is 6, which is the alternative bingo saying the caller could choose.

7 – Lucky seven

The number 7 is considered lucky in many cultures. There are 7 days of the week, 7 colours of the rainbow and 7 notes on a musical scale.

8 – Garden gate

This saying rhymes with the number 8, but there’s said to be something more about the history of this call. Legend has it that the ‘garden gate’ was a code for a secret meeting or drop off point.

Bingo Balls Numbers

9 – Doctor’s orders

During World War II, Number 9 was the name of a pill given out by army doctors to solidiers who were a little bit poorly. This powerful laxative was said to clear the system of all ills!

10 – [Prime Minister’s name]’s den

Always up to date, bingo callers will insert the name of the current Prime Minister into this call. It references number 10 Downing Street.

11 – Legs eleven

Cartoon Images Of Bingo Balls Numbers 7 And 5

One of the many calls that relates to the shape that the number makes. The two 1s look like a pair of slender legs. Whit woo!

12 – One dozen

12 makes up a dozen.

13 – Unlucky for some

Many superstitious people believe that 13 is an unlucky number – but if you call house on 13, it’s lucky for you!

14 – Valentine’s Day

Referring to 14th February, the international day of romance.

15 – Young and keen

15 rhymes with keen .

16 – Sweet 16 and never been kissed

Turning 16 marks a special birthday. You’re not quite an adult, but you’re no longer a child.

17 – Dancing queen

“You are the dancing queen, young and sweet, only seventeen!” We can thank ABBA and their 1976 hit single ‘Dancing Queen’ for this bingo call.

18 – Coming of age

This milestone denotes when you’re officially an adult. Some callers also shout: “Now you can vote!”

19 – Goodbye teens

The last teenage year!

20 – One score / Getting Plenty

There are 20 units in a score. The phrase ‘getting plenty’ is also a cheeky rhyme with the number.

21 – Royal salute / Key of the door

There are 21 guns fired in a royal or military salute. 21 was also the traditional age where you’d move out of your parents’ house and have your own keys to your own place.

22 – Two little ducks

Again, this call exists to describe the shape that the numbers make.

23 – The Lord is my shepherd

A biblical reference, this is the first phrase of Psalm 23 in the Old Testament.

24 – Two dozen

12 is one dozen and 24 makes two dozen.

25 – Duck and dive

Another call that rhymes but it’s also said that the number 2 is the duck and you want to dive away from the number 5 which looks like a snake! One of the stranger bingo terms, that’s for sure.

26 – Half a crown

This saying comes from predecimalization (old money), where two shillings and sixpence made up half a crown.

27 – Gateway to heaven

You will be in heaven if you call house on this bingo rhyming slang!

28 – In a state

Cockney rhyming slang. “He was in a right two and eight” means “He was in a poor state!”

29 – Rise and shine

The numbers rhyme with this cheery saying.

30 – Dirty Gertie

Rhyming with 30, this phrase comes from the nickname for the statue La Délivrance, a bronze sculpture of a naked lady installed in North London in 1927. There was also a raucous song called Dirty Gertie from Bizerte, which was sung by Allied soldiers in North Africa during the Second World War.

31 – Get up and run

Get up and run when you hear this rhyming call for 31.

32 – Buckle my shoe

The phrase rhymes with the numbers.

33 – All the threes/Fish, chips and peas

33 represents all the 3s available in a 90 ball game. It also rhymes with the traditional English fish supper from the chippy. Yum!

34 – Ask for more

A great rhyme, especially following 33!

35 – Jump and jive

You’ll be doing this dance step if you call house on number 35.

36 – Three dozen

Plain and simple, 3 lots of 12.

37 – More than eleven

Lots of numbers are more than 11, but this one kind of rhymes!

38 – Christmas cake

Another term derived from cockney rhyming slang.

39 – 39 steps

From the 1935 Alfred Hitchcock movie called 39 Steps.

40 – Life begins

Life begins at 40! Who are we to disagree with this well-known bingo call?!

41 – Time for fun

Life has begun so it’s time for some fun!

42 – Winnie the Pooh

Winnie the Pooh books by A. A. Milne were first published in 1926. The honey-loving bear became part of the Walt Disney family in 1965.

43 – Down on your knees

Harking back to war-time Britain, this phrase was often used by soldiers during the war.

44 – Droopy drawers

Said to be a visual reference to sagging trousers!

45 – Halfway there

There are 90 balls in traditional British bingo [www.meccabingo.com] games and 45 is half of 90.

46 – Up to tricks

This phrase rhymes with the number 46.

47 – Four and seven

Not particularly inspiring, but does what it says on the tin. Can you think of a better one?

48 – Four dozen

4 x 12 = 48

49 – PC

This call is based on the old TV programme ‘The Adventures of P.C. 49,’ which aired from 1946–53. The show told the stories of an unconventional police constable solving cases in London.

50 – Half a century

A full century is 100 and 50 is half of that.

51 – Tweak of the thumb

A quirky call that rhymes. Could also be replaced with “I love my mum.”

52 – Danny La Rue

Another great rhyme that references the Irish cross-dressing singer and entertainer who rose to fame in the mid ‘40s.

53 – Here comes Herbie

53 is the number of the VW Beetle Herbie, the car featured in a number of films by Walt Disney in the 1960s. Players often respond with “Beep, beep!”

54 – Clean the floor

Nobody wants to think about housework while they’re playing bingo, but this rhyme has been around for years.

55 – Snakes alive

Another visual bingo call. The two fives look like snakes ready to spring.

56 – Shotts Bus / Was she worth it?

The original number of the bus route from Glasgow to Shotts. Five shillings and sixpence was how much a marriage licence used to cost. When the caller asked: “Was she worth it?” many players would shout back “Every penny!”

57 – Heinz varieties

Referring to the number in the logo of food company Heinz. The number 57 was reportedly picked by the founder as he wanted to claim he offered the greatest selection of pickles. Five was his lucky number and 7 was his wife’s.

58 – Make them wait

This is another rhyming call. Players often respond with “Choo choo, Thomas!”

59 – Brighton Line

There are mixed ideas on where this comes from. Some think that it’s the number of the train from Brighton to London, engine 59 – and others say that all original telephone numbers in Brighton started with 59.

60 – Five dozen / Grandma’s getting frisky

Our favourite reference is back again! 5 x 12 = 60. 60 almost rhymes with frisky and is the traditional age that women could retire and draw a state pension.

61 – Baker’s bun

This bingo call rhymes with the number.

62 – Turn the screw / Tickety-boo

Both these phrases rhyme with the number. Tickety-boo is slang for ‘good’ or ‘going well’.

63 – Tickle me

Another cheeky phrase that rhymes, but its origins are unclear.

64 – Red raw

Not the closest rhyme to the number 64 but this bingo call seems to have stood the test of time.

65 – Old age pension

The traditional age that men could retire in the UK.

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66 – Clickety click

This great sounding rhyme sounds like a train steaming down a track.

67 – Stairway to heaven

Another whimsical rhyming bingo call.

68 – Pick a mate

Bingo [www.meccabingo.com] is better with friends! Pick a mate and look out for this rhyming call.

69 – Any way up

This call explains how the number 69 looks the same upside down.

70 – Three score and ten

More maths! 3 x 2 = 60, plus 10 = 70!

71 – Bang on the drum

In the early 2000s, a campaign called to change this traditional call to ‘J.Lo’s bum’. What do you make of that?

72 – Six dozen

Another reference using that famous dozen metric.

73 – Queen bee

We’re buzzing about this bingo call that rhymes.

74 – Hit the floor

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Bingo

A call that rhymes. Makes us want to hit the dance floor, too!

75 – Strive and strive

We’re striving for a full house. Hope it lands when this call is shouted.

76 – Trombones

This pop-culture bingo call references the lyrics in the popular marching song ‘76 Trombones’ from the musical, The Music Man.

77 – Sunset strip

So called because of the popular 1950s/60s private investigator TV show, 77 Sunset Strip.

78 – 39 more steps

This references the 39 Steps film again, as 39 + 39 = 78

79 – One more time

Nothing to do with Britney Spears, just another call that rhymes!

80 – Ghandi’s breakfast

Because he is said to have ate nothing… eight nothing… geddit?!

81 – Stop and run

A bit of a confusing bingo rhyme…how can you stop and run and the same time?

82 – Straight on through

Another lovely rhyme that’s been around since bingo began.

83 – Time for tea

Another reference to the UK’s favourite beverage. Two quintessentially British pastimes; bingo and brews!

84 – Seven dozen

The last of our dozen references! 7 x 12 = 84.

85 – Staying alive

This bingo call was around well before the Bee Gees, but we like it and it rhymes!

86 – Between the sticks

Not only does this rhyme, but it is said to refer to the number 86 being the position of goalkeepers, who would spend the match ‘between the sticks’ or goalposts.

87 – Torquay in Devon

It rhymes and also provides a geography lesson!

88 – Two fat ladies

A visual representation… the number 88 is said to look like two fat ladies sitting next to each other.

89 – Nearly there

A reference to 89 being 1 away from 90 – the end of the bingo numbers.

90 – Top of the shop / end of the line / as far as we go

All the calls that go with the number 90 in bingo reference it being the highest or last number.

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