When it’s your first-time playing bingo in the UK, you might get caught off guard by the fact that the caller usually follows each number with a nickname that ranges from the somewhat understandable (88 is ‘two fat ladies’, that might make sense?) to the completely out there and confusing (how is number 58 ‘choo-choo Thomas?’). This particular habit is endemic to the UK and is likely a result of Cockney Rhyming Slang being integrated into the calls – it does serve a purpose beyond inside jokes though.
From a distance, certain calls might sound the same like Forty-Eight and Fifty-Eight so it makes sense to distinguish them with a second name to ensure everyone knows what the number is. It spread from East London and soon featured regional references that would no doubt baffle anyone not from that region, 56 ‘Schotts Bus’ is based on the number a bus took between Glasgow and Schott. (The other reading of 56 ‘Was she worth it?’ is supposedly a reference to the cost of a marriage license).
A number of calls also come from the armed forces, bingo was a popular game for the military and it’s not a surprise that a few of their calls have made their way into the common vocabulary of Bingo. One of the most ubiquitous is number 9 ‘doctor’s joy’, allegedly because 9 o clock was the last time you could see a doctor (in the military at least).
With the age of digital screens and online bingo sites like pay by phone bill casinos, you’d be forgiven for expecting the numbers to have stopped being quite so present, but they’re still around! Though the practical reasons for them may no longer apply, they’re still fun to call out and form a fun bit of bingo culture. Here are a few of the more memorable calls and their origins!
11 ‘Legs’ – Simply because the number looks like a pair of legs, maybe a bit simple but they aren’t all deep references.
14 ‘The Lawnmower’ – So called because early lawnmowers had 14 blades, this reference is one that you’d have to be pretty sharp to catch!
23 ‘The Lord is my Shepherd’ – The first line of Psalm 23 contains this line, as a recognisable bit of scripture, it was a reference that most players would understand.
45 ‘Cowboy’s Friend’ – A reference to a Colt .45 revolver, a favourite of frontiersmen in the wild west.
50 ‘Snow White’s number’ – This one is a reference to the Disney song, with a slightly misheard lyrics “five ohhh five ohhh its off to work we go”. Not every one is a classic…
67 ‘The Argumentative Number’ – This is a dim reference to another phrase, being at sixes and sevens, which meant when people were at opposing odds.
80 ‘Gandhi’s Breakfast’ – A reference to when Gandhi was on hunger strike and ‘ate nothing’, or ‘eight nothing’. This one’s a little less common now.
86 ‘Between the sticks’ – An old reference to goalkeepers that still makes some sense today!
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But what do you think? Know any secret origins for cool bingo calls that we don’t know about? Let us know in the comments below!
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