Bingo Balls Numbers
Years active | 1920s to present |
---|---|
Language(s) | English |
Random chance | Extremely high |
Age range | Varies |
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.
You can also play Housie bingo and generate numbers from 1-90, which is popular in the UK. This app also supports generating bingo numbers from 1-9, 1-15, 1-20, 1-25, 1-30, 1-50 and 1-100 if you would like to play alternate varieties. Just choose the game type and click 'New Game' to play a different variation. Contact us if you'd like a variety added. Generating Bingo Numbers Online. Bingo Calculator. How to estimate and modify the odds of a bingo game. The Bingo Calculator allows you to link together all the parameters that can influence the odds of the players to get a bingo during a game. You can change the number of balls in the bingo caller in order to obtain the game outcome you would want.
Feb 25, 2013 The number 10 is usually linked with Downing Street, and whoever is the current prime minister – although to many players it is still ‘Maggie’s Den’ in honour of Margaret Thatcher. Number 90 is, of course, ‘top of the shop’ in 90-ball bingo, but that description can equally well apply to 80 or 75 in the relevant other variants of bingo. What are Bingo Numbers? Every ball has a number on it, and it is these which you are attempting to dab off on your gamecards. How Many Numbers Are There in a Bingo Set? It depends on which form of online bingo you are playing, and the clue is generally in the title: 75-ball bingo has numbers 1-75, 80-ball has 1-80, and so on. 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.
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:
B | I | N | G | O |
● | ● | ● | ● | |
● | ● | ● | ● | |
● | ● | ● | ||
● | ● | ● | ● | |
● | ● | ● | ● |
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]
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 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.
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]
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]
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]
Bingo Ball Numbers
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]
Bingo Balls Numbers
See also[edit]
- Online bingo, Bingo played on the Internet
- Screeno, Bingo played by movie audience members
Bingo Balls With Large Numbers
References[edit]
- ^'Not Your Mother's Bingo'. Gaijin Chronicles. Retrieved 18 March 2015.
- ^'History Of Bingo Games - Details About Bingos Past'. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^['https://www.tripsavvy.com/pittsburgh-facts-and-firsts-2706998' First Bingo Game (early 1920s) -- Pittsburgh, PA]
- ^['http://popularpittsburgh.com/pittsburgh-firsts/' In the 1920s, Bingo was born in Pittsburgh]
- ^'History of Bingo'. strangelife.com. Retrieved 19 March 2018.
- ^ abcKiviat, Barbara (2 May 2007). 'How Drag Queens Took Over Bingo'. Time. Retrieved 19 November 2012.
- ^Mahoney, Bill (November 28, 2017). Bingo loyalists rolled by new state restriction. Politico. Retrieved November 28, 2017.
- ^'National Bingo Night - TV.com'. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
- ^'Drag Queen Bingo - Five15'. Retrieved 3 November 2014.
External links[edit]
This is a list of British bingo nicknames. In the game of bingo in the United Kingdom, callers announcing the numbers have traditionally used some nicknames to refer to particular numbers if they are drawn. The nicknames are sometimes known by the rhyming phrase 'bingo lingo' and there are rhymes for each number from 1 to 90, some of which date back many decades. In some clubs, the 'bingo caller' will say the number, with the assembled players intoning the rhyme in a call and response manner, in others, the caller will say the rhyme and the players chant the number. In 2003, Butlins holiday camps introduced some more modern calls devised by a Professor of Popular Culture in an attempt to bring fresh interest to bingo.[1][2]
Calls[edit]
Number | Nickname | Explanation |
---|---|---|
1 | Kelly’s eye[3] | The pun is military slang;[4] 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 also '22'. Response is a single 'quack.' |
3 | Cup of tea | Rhymes with 'three'. |
4 | Knock at the door | Rhymes with 'four'. |
5 | Man alive[3] | Rhymes with 'five'. |
6 | Half a dozen[5] | A common phrase meaning six units (see '12' below). |
Tom Mix | Cockney rhyming slang for number 6[6] | |
7 | Lucky [3] | 7 is considered a lucky number in some cultures. |
8 | Garden gate[5] | Rhymes with 'eight'. |
9 | Brighton line[5][7] | 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 | (Current Prime Minister of the United Kingdom) Boris’s den. | The name refers to 10 Downing Street the home of the UK Prime Minister. |
11 | Legs eleven | A reference to the shape of the number resembling a pair of legs, often chicken legs specifically.[8] 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 | Valentine's Day | A reference to 14 February being St. Valentine's Day. |
15 | Young and keen | Rhymes with 'fifteen'. |
16 | Never been kissed[2] | After the song Sweet Sixteen and Never Been Kissed |
Sweet 16 | Refers to the US and Canadian celebrations of a Sweet sixteen birthday. | |
17 | Dancing Queen | ABBA's song Dancing Queen has the number mentioned in the lyrics. |
18 | Coming of age | Eighteen is the age of majority 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. |
21 | Key of the door | The traditional age of majority. |
Royal salute | Named after the traditional 21-gun salute. | |
22 | Two little ducks | The numeral 22 resembles the profile of two ducks.[8] 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[3] | Rhymes with '(twenty) three'. | |
24 | Two dozen | 12 × 2 = 24. Refer to 12 above. |
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 | Half a crown | Pre-decimalised currency in the UK. (See half crown). A half crown is equivalent to 2 shillings sixpence, written 2/6. |
Pick and mix | Rhymes with '(twenty) six' | |
27 | Duck and a crutch. | The number 2 looks like a duck (see '2') and the number 7 looks like a crutch. |
Gateway to Heaven | Rhymes with '(twenty) seven' | |
28 | In a state. | 'Two and eight' is rhyming slang for 'state'. |
Overweight | Rhymes with '(twenty) eight'. | |
29 | Rise and shine | Rhymes with '(twenty) nine'. |
30 | Dirty Gertie[1] | 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.[9] |
31 | Get up and run[1] | Rhymes with '(thirty) one'. |
32 | Buckle my shoe | Rhymes with '(thirty) two'. |
33 | Dirty knee | Rhymes with '(thirty) three'. |
34 | Ask for more | Rhymes with '(thirty) four'. |
35 | Jump and jive[2] | A dance step. |
36 | Three dozen | 3 × 12 = 36. Refer to 12 above |
37 | More than 11 | Rhymes with '(thirty) seven'. |
38 | Christmas cake | Cockney rhyming slang. |
39 | Steps | From the 39 Steps |
40 | Life begins | Refers to the proverb 'life begins at forty'. |
Naughty 40 | Possibly in reference to the Naughty Forty. | |
41 | Time for fun | Rhymes |
42 | Winnie the Pooh | Rhymes with '(forty) two' and in reference to Winnie-the-Pooh, a beloved UK children's book character. |
43 | Down on your knees | This was a phrase that was made popular during wartime by soldiers. |
44 | Droopy drawers[7] | Rhyme that refers to sagging trousers.[citation needed] |
45 | Halfway there | Being halfway towards 90. |
46 | Up to tricks | Rhymes with '(forty) six'. |
47 | Four and seven | Refers to the two numbers that make up 47, that being 4 and 7. |
48 | Four dozen | 4 × 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. | |
Half a century | Referring to 50 being half of 100. | |
51 | Tweak of the thumb | Rhymes with '(fifty) one'. |
52 | Danny La Rue[10] | A reference to drag entertainer Danny La Rue. Also used for other numbers ending in '2' (see '72' below). |
Chicken vindaloo[1] | Introduced by Butlins in 2003.[1] | |
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!' |
Stuck in the tree | Rhymes with '(fifty) three'. | |
54 | Man at the door | Rhymes with '(fifty) four'. |
Clean the floor | Rhymes with '(fifty) four'. | |
55 | All the fives[5] | Rhymes with '(fifty) five'. |
Snakes alive | Rhymes with '(fifty) five'. | |
56 | Shotts bus[5] | 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[5] | Refers to 'Heinz 57', the '57 Varieties' slogan of the H. J. Heinz Company. |
58 | Make them wait | Rhymes with '(fifty) eight'. Here the announcer would pause, making the audience wait. |
59 | Brighton line | Quote from The Importance of Being Earnest referencing trains 59 in turn references the number 59 bus running between Brighton and Shoreham-by-Sea. |
60 | Grandma's getting frisky | Rhymes with 'sixty'. |
Five dozen | 5 × 12 = 60. Refer to 12 above. | |
61 | Bakers bun | Rhymes with '(sixty) one'. |
62 | Tickety-boo | Rhymes with '(sixty) two'. |
Turn the screw | ||
63 | Tickle me | Rhymes with '(sixty) three'. |
64 | Almost retired | A reference to the former British male age of mandatory retirement – specifically being one year away from it. |
Red raw | Rhymes with '(sixty) four'. | |
65 | Retirement age, Stop work[2] | A reference to the former male British age of mandatory retirement. |
Old age pension | ||
66 | Clickety click[7] | Rhymes with '(sixty) six'. |
67 | Stairway to Heaven | Coined by Andrew 'CIP' Lavelle. |
Made in Heaven[3] | Rhymes with '(sixty) seven'. | |
68 | Pick a mate | Coined by Edward James Mackey II. |
Saving grace | Rhymes with '(sixty) eight'. | |
69 | Anyway up | A reference to the 69 sex position. |
Either way up | ||
Meal for two | ||
A favourite of mine[2] | ||
70 | Three score and 10 | A score is a way of counting in 20s in which one score is 20.[11] 20 * 3 = 60 + 10 = 70. Three score and ten years is the span of life according to the Bible.[12] |
71 | Bang on the drum[2] | Rhymes with '(seventy) one'. |
J.Lo's bum[2] | ||
72 | Danny La Rue[2] | Rhymes with '(seventy) two' |
Six dozen | 6 × 12 = 72. Refer to 12 above. | |
73 | Queen bee | Rhymes with '(seventy) three'. |
Under the tree. | ||
Lucky 3[13] | ||
74 | Hit the floor | Coined by Ann Fitzsimons. |
Candy store | Rhymes with '(seventy) four'. | |
75 | Strive and strive[14] | Rhymes with '(seventy) five'. |
76 | Trombones[15] | 'Seventy-Six Trombones' is a popular marching song, from the musical The Music Man. |
77 | Two little crutches[15] | 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. |
Heaven's gate | Rhymes with '(seventy) eight'. | |
79 | One more time | Rhymes with '(seventy) nine'. |
80 | Gandhi's breakfast | 'Ate nothing'. |
Eight and blank | Refers to 80 being made up of 8 and 0 (nothing). | |
81 | Fat lady with a walking stick | The number 8 is supposed to visually resemble a lady with ample bosom and hips, while the number 1 is supposed to visually resemble a walking stick. |
Stop and run | Rhymes with '(eighty) one'. | |
82 | Straight on through | Rhymes with '(eighty) two'. |
83 | Time for tea | Rhymes and scans[14] |
84 | Give me more | Rhymes and scans. |
85 | Staying alive[16] | 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[17] | The number 88 visually resembles 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[5] | 90 is the highest (top) number in bingo. Shop refers to the entire game of bingo (and also rhymes with 'top'). |
References[edit]
Citations[edit]
- ^ abcde'J-Lo gets bingo call-up'. BBC News Online. 5 May 2003. Retrieved 2 July 2009.
- ^ abcdefgh'R.I.P. 1950s Bingo Calls'. BBC News Online. 7 May 2003. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^ abcdeArielr (9 September 2020). 'Bingo Calls'. Wink Bingo. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^Partridge 2006, p. 1397.
- ^ abcdefgBingo – Trendier than Clubbing!, Inside Out (BBC), 23 September 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^'Tom Mix is Cockney Rhyming Slang for 6!'. www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^ abcGreen 1987, p. 56.
- ^ abBingo Slang Terms, 11 October 2011. Retrieved 9 April 2012.
- ^Vosburgh 1994.
- ^Jackson 2007.
- ^'Why is the number 20 called a 'score'? - Quora'. www.quora.com. Retrieved 2 December 2020.
- ^King James Bible. Psalm 90 verse 10.CS1 maint: location (link)
- ^'Bingo Calls a Complete Guide Infographic'.
- ^ ab'Bingo Calls'. Wink Bingo. Retrieved 27 April 2020.
- ^ ab'How to stay young, even if you're clickety-click'. BBC News Online. 11 July 2002. Retrieved 3 August 2009.
- ^'The history behind the game of Bingo'.
- ^Lemanski 2008.
Sources[edit]
- Green, Jonathon (1987). Dictionary of jargon. London: Routledge. ISBN0-7100-9919-3.
- Jackson, Katie (18 August 2007). 'How we put the balls in bingo'. Daily Mirror. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
- Lemanski, Dominik (20 April 2008). 'Amy's No, No, No to Kebab'. Daily Star. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
- Partridge, Eric (2006). A Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English. Routledge. ISBN978-1-134-96365-2.
- Vosburgh, Dick (8 March 1994). 'Obituary: Walter Kent'. The Independent. London. Retrieved 24 August 2009.