Bingo Calls

Most of the following British Bingo Lingo is self-explanatory but where it’s not we’ll try to offer some further explanation. These nicknames were used by bingo callers in the traditional bingo halls when calling out each number they are now known as bingo lingo or bingo calls.

There is a bingo call for every bingo number from 1 – 90. While some lingo is very simple others are more obscure and that’s why we're here to help when you play bingo. The nickname will usually rhyme with the number, for example ‘Tom’s Trick’s: 6. While other bingo calls have a more logical reason backing them, some like ‘Kelly’s Eye’ (after the one eyed Australian gangster Ned Kelly) for number one are far more obscure.

The list we have provided includes some of the most commonly used lingo for numbers called in UK bingo.

1 Kelly’s Eye / At the Beginning (One eyed Australian gangster Ned Kelly)
2 One Little Duck (the number 2 is a swan like shape)
3 Cup of Tea
4 Knock at the Door
5 Man Alive
6 Toms Trick’s
7 Lucky Seven
8 One Fat Lady
9 Doctor’s Orders (Brought back from the army days… A pill known as Number 9 was a laxative given out by army doctors.)
10 Tony’s Den (This bit of terminology changes depending on who the British Prime Minister is at the time. Number 10 Downing Street is the traditional residence of The British Prime Minister, and in the UK it is simply referred to as “Number 10” and so the association.)
11 Legs Eleven
12 One Dozen
13 Unlucky for Some
14 Valentines Day
15 Young and Keen
16 Sweet Sixteen
17 Dancing Queen (From the ABBA Song, Dancing Queen. “You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen…”)
18 Coming of Age
20 One Score
21 Key of the Door
22 Two Little Ducks
23 Thee and Me / The Lord Is My Shepard (Refers to Psalm in the Bible.)
24 Two Dozen
25 Duck and Dive
26 Pick and Mix / Bed ad Breakfast (The cost of a night’s lodgings and breakfast was traditionally 2 shllings and sixpence, or two and six.)
27 Gateway to Heaven
28 In a State
29 You’re Doing Fine
30 Burlington Bertie (This crosses over to horse racing lingo. Burlington Bettie is odds of 100-30 on the racing circuit.)
31 Get up and run
32 Buckle my Shoe
33 Dirty Knees
34 Ask for More
35 Jump and Jive
36 Three Dozen
37 A flea in Heaven
38 Christmas Cake
39 Those Famous Steps
40 Naughty Forty
41 Time for Fun
42 Winnie the Pooh
43 Down on your knees
44 Droopy Drawers
45 Halfway There
46 Up to tricks
47 Four and seven
48 Four Dozen
49 PC (PC refers to Police Constable. PC 49 was a well known cop show in the olden days of British Radio.)
50 Bulls Eye (This piece of slang comes from the game of darts, where the aim of the game is the hit the small, circular dot called the bulls eye which is worth 50 point. Hence 50 = Bulls Eye.)
51 Tweak of the thumb
52 Danny La Rue (Famous British drag artist.)
53 Stuck in the Tree
54 Clean the Floor
55 Snakes Alive
56 Was she worth it?
57 Heinz Varieties (Heinz 57 is a popular variety of canned baked beans in the UK.)
58 Make them Wait
59 Brighton Line
60 Five Dozen
61 Bakers Run
62 Turn on the Screw
63 Tickle Me
64 Red Raw / The Beatles Number (“when I get older losing my hair, many years from now…”based on the song “When I’m 64”by British pop group legends The Beatles.)
65 Old age pension (Traditional British minimum age for claiming a state pension – although it’s now lowered to 60 for women)
66 Clickety Click
67 Made in Heaven
68 Saving Grace
69 Either Way Up
70 Three Score and Ten
71 Bang on the Drum
72 Six Dozen / Par for the Course (Based on golfing terminology)
73 Crutch and a flea
74 Candy Store
75 Strive and Strive
76 Trombones (Refers to the brass section musical piece “76 trombones” typically heard at just about every single parade you came across)
77 Sunset Strip (Cult American TV Show)
78 Heavens Gate
79 One more time
80 Gandhi’s Breakfast (Imagine looking down at Gandhi sitting cross legged in front of a large empty plate.)
81 Stop and Run
82 Straight and Through
83 Ethel’s Ear (The eight is a fat lady shape and the three is an ear shape.)
84 Seven Dozen
85 Staying Alive
86 Between the Sticks
87 Torquay in Devon
88 Two Fat Ladies
89 Nearly There
90 Top of the Shop