DIRECTORY

QUICK LINKS

A Question of Numbers

One of the defining characteristics of any bingo game is the slang that is used to represent the numbers. Most people are familiar with the famous ones such as ‘legs eleven’ or ‘two fat ladies’ but there is in fact a slang-word for every single number that can be pulled out. Here are a few simple explanations:

1 - Kelly’s eye – Is a reference to one-eyed Australian ranger gangster Ned Kelly.

9 - Doctor’s Orders – There are a number of different explanations for this. One is that a pill known as Number 9 was a laxative given out by army doctors in Britain. Another is that during the second world war in Britain doctors wrote on sick notes a 9pm curfew, thus if patients were found out of their homes after that time they were violating their sick note.

17 - Dancing Queen – According to Abba’s song whose ‘Dancing Queen’ was only seventeen.

23 - Lord’s My Shepherd – From Psalm 23.

26 - Bed and Breakfast/Half A Crown – Traditionally the cost of a nights’ lodgings was 2 shillings sixpence, hence the two and six, as with Half A Crown, which is the equivalent to two and six.

59 - The Brighton Line – The London-Brighton service was no.59.

76 - Seven n’ Six/Was she worth it? – The price of a marriage license used to be seven shillings and six pence. Alternatively, 7 and 6 was more recently the cost of a short time spent with a prostitute.

78 - Heaven’s Gate – To do with the rhyme, heaven-seven, gate-eight.

80 - Gandhi’s Breakfast – Again there are several reason for this. It could be a visual representation of Ghandi’s famous peace protest in which he abstained from food, imagine him sitting cross legged with a big empty plate in front of him, looking down from above. An alternative suggestion is that it is to do with ate (8) nothing (0)

These are just a handful of a few of the more obscure bingo calls. Obviously there are a number of different slangs and variations depending on which country you are playing the game in, or indeed between different bingo halls, such as Mecca, and smaller village or school halls where the game is often played as a method of raising money for a local cause. As one of the defining features of a game that is growing almost exponentially, the slang terms no doubt have a large bearing on the affection with which the game is held and the enjoyment of those who take part.

For lovers of internet bingo Mecca now have a website dedicated to bingo although you’ll have to shout out the slang terminology yourself.