If you are new to the world of online bingo or traditional bingo, you may be forgiven for thinking that the game is simply about arming yourself with some bingo cards, listening out for the numbers called and hoping to win. While this is the basic premise of the game, it is important to remember that bingo dates further back than the exciting, fast-paced world of today's online bingo and, in fact, has a rich and interesting history surrounding it. Nowhere is this fact reflected better than in the old traditional calling names used in bingo halls.
What are Calling Names?
Calling names are traditional nicknames given to all the numbers on the bingo board, from one through to ninety. These names sprung up in the United Kingdom and may vary from region to region in the country. Essentially, bingo calling names fall into two broad categories - those that rhyme with the number, and those that have a special reason to why they are associated with that particular number. In online bingo there are no calling names, but the numbers are called out clearly plus the fact that you have a visual of the ball as well as a board where all the numbers called are displayed.
Many bingo calling names have one than one calling name - one of ‘rhyme' and one of ‘reason'. This is because many rhyming nicknames can rhyme with other numbers down the list (for example, the number 25's calling name ‘Duck and Dive' also rhymes with all numbers on the list that end with five). This makes it difficult to remember all the rhyming names and so a ‘reasonable' name is given as well. Multiples of 10 (ie. numbers 20, 30, etc.) have the word ‘blind' put before the number. Knowing the lingo is just as necessary in online bingo as it is in regular bingo, however bingo games wouldn’t be the same without it. Lists of these popular nicknames can be found at some online bingo sites.
Traditional Calling Names and Some of their Explanations
| No. | Calling Names | Explanation |
| 1 | At the beginning/Kelly's eye | Named for the one-eyed Australian gangster called Ned Kelly |
| 2 | Me and You/One little duck | The number two is shaped like a swan |
| 3 | You and me/Cup of tea | |
| 4 | Knock at the door | |
| 5 | Man alive | |
| 6 | Tom's Tricks/Tom Nix | |
| 7 | God's in heaven/Lucky seven | |
| 8 | Golden gate/Garden gate/One fat lady | Named for the shape of the number 8 |
| 9 | Doctor's Orders | During World War II, the common name for the laxative pill was "number 9". |
| 10 | Tony's Den | Tony refers to Prime Minister Tony Blair who lives at number 10 Downing Street. When the English PM changes, the calling name also does. |
| 11 | Leg's eleven | |
| 12 | One dozen | Twelve is one dozen |
| 13 | Unlucky for some/Devil's number/Baker's dozen | Refers to the unlucky qualities of number 13 and the fact that 13 is a baker's dozen |
| 14 | Valentine's Day | A holiday which falls on February 14th |
| 15 | Young and keen/Rugby team | A rugby team consists of 15 players |
| 16 | She's lovely/Sweet sixteen | |
| 17 | Often been kissed/Dancing queen | |
| 18 | Coming of age | The legal coming of age in the U.K. |
| 19 | Goodbye teens | |
| 20 | Blind 20/One score | One score is also known as twenty |
| 21 | Key of the door | |
| 22 | All the twos/two little ducks | Refers to the shape of the number 2 |
| 23 | She and me/The Lord is my shepherd | Refers to Psalm number 23 in the Bible |
| 24 | Two dozen | |
| 25 | Duck and dive | |
| 26 | Pick and mix/Half a crown/Bed and breakfast | Traditionally, the cost of one night's accommodation plus breakfast in England used to cost '2 and 6' (two shillings and a sixpence |
| 27 | Gateway to heaven/Little duck with crutch | Refers to the shape of the numbers |
| 28 | In a state/Overweight | |
| 29 | Rise and Shine/You're doing fine | |
| 30 | Blind thirty/Burlington Bertie/Dirty Gertie/Flirty Thirty/Speed Limit | Refers to the speed limit for cars in yester-year England |
| 31 | Get up and run | |
| 32 | Buckle my shoe | |
| 33 | All the threes/Dirty knees/All the feathers/Two little fleas/Sherwood forest | |
| 34 | Ask for more | |
| 35 | Jump and jive | |
| 36 | Three and dozen | |
| 37 | A flea in heaven/More than eleven | |
| 38 | Christmas cake | |
| 39 | Steps/Those famous steps | |
| 40 | Naughty forty | |
| 41 | Time for fun | |
| 42 | Winnie the Pooh/Famous street in Manhattan | Refers to 42nd Street in Manhattan |
| 43 | Down on your knees | |
| 44 | All the fours/Droopy drawers | |
| 45 | Halfway House/Halfway there | Refers to the fact that 45 is half of 90 |
| 46 | Up to tricks | |
| 47 | Four and seven | |
| 48 | Four dozen | |
| 49 | P.C./Constable/Nick Nick | |
| 50 | Blind fifty/Half a century/Bull's Eye | Refers to the number of points won for a bulls eye in the game of darts |
| 51 | Tweak of the Thumb | |
| 52 | Danny la Rue/Weeks in a year | |
| 53 | Stuck in the Tree | |
| 54 | Clean the floor | |
| 55 | All the fives/Snakes alive | |
| 56 | Was she worth it? | |
| 57 | Heinz varieties | |
| 58 | Choo-choo Thomas/Make them wait | |
| 59 | Brighton Line | The traditional English bus service from London to Brighton was number 59 |
| 60 | Blind sixty/Three score/Five dozen | |
| 61 | Baker's Bun | |
| 62 | Tickety Boo/Turn on the Screw | |
| 63 | Tickle Me | |
| 64 | Red Raw/The Beatle's Number | Refers to the famous song "When I'm 64" by the pop group, the Beatles. |
| 65 | Age old pension | Retirement age for men in England |
| 66 | Clickety Click/All the sixes | |
| 67 | Argumentative number/Made in Heaven | |
| 68 | Saving Grace | |
| 69 | The same both ways/Either way up/Your place or mine/Meal for two | A number with sexual connotations |
| 70 | Blind seventy/Three score and ten | |
| 71 | Bang on the drum | |
| 72 | Six dozen/A par for the course/A crutch and a duck | |
| 73 | Queen B/A crutch and a flea | |
| 74 | Candy store | |
| 75 | Strive and Strive | |
| 76 | Trombones/Was she worth it? | Refers to the cost of a traditional marriage license in England that used to cost "7 and 6" (7 shillings and sixpence) |
| 77 | Sunset Strip/All the sevens/Two little crutches | |
| 78 | Heaven's Gate | |
| 79 | One more time | |
| 80 | Blind 80/Eight and blank/Ghandi's breakfast | Consider a bird's eye-view of Ghandi sitting cross-legged facing his empty plate for breakfast |
| 81 | Stop and run | |
| 82 | Straight on through/Fat lady with a duck | |
| 83 | Time for tea/Ethel's ear | Refers to a fat lady and the shape of an ear (3) |
| 84 | Seven dozen | |
| 85 | Staying alive | |
| 86 | Between the sticks | |
| 87 | Torquay in Devon/Fat lady with a crutch | |
| 88 | All the eights/Two fat ladies | |
| 89 | All but one/Nearly there | |
| 90 | Blind 90/End of the line/Top of the shop/Top of the house |
