Bingo Number-calling Nicknames 35.. Jump and jive - Flirty wives 36.. Three dozen - Perfect (as in 36-24-36) - Yardstick... he wishes! (USA) 37.. A flea in heaven - More than eleven 38.. Christmas cake 39.. Those famous steps - All the steps - Jack Benny 40.. Two score - Life begins at - Blind 40 - Naughty 40 - Mary (USA) 41.. Life�s begun - Time for fun 42.. That famous street in Manhattan - Whinny the Poo 43.. Down on your knees 44.. Droopy drawers - All the fours - Open two doors - Magnum (USA) 45.. Halfway house - Halfway there - Cowboy's friend - Colt (USA) 46.. Up to tricks 48.. Four dozen 49.. PC (Police Constable) - Copper - Nick nick - Rise and shine 50..

Bulls eye - Bung hole - Blind 50 - Half a century - Snow White's number (five-oh - five-oh..) - Hawaii five O, Hawaii (USA) 51.. I love my mum - Tweak of the thumb - The Highland Div[ision] - President's salute 52.. Weeks in a year - The Lowland Div[ision] - Danny La Rue - Pack 'o cards - Pickup (USA) 53.. Stuck in the tree - The Welsh Div[ision] - The joker 54.. Clean the floor - House of bamboo (famous song) 55.. Snakes alive - All the fives - Double nickels - Give us fives - Bunch of fives 56.. Was she worth it? 57.. Heinz varieties - All the beans (Heinz 57 varieties of canned beans) 58.. Make them wait - Choo choo Thomas 59.. Brighton line (engine 59 or it took 59 mins to go from London to Brighton) 60.. Three score - Blind 60 - Five dozen 61.. Bakers bun 62..

Tickety boo - Turn on the screw 63.. Tickle me - Home ball (USA) 64.. The Beatles number - Red raw 65.. Old age pension - Stop work (retirement age) 66.. Clickety click - All the sixes - Quack quack (USA) 67.. Made in heaven - Argumentative number 68.. Saving grace - Check your weight 69.. The same both ways - Your place or mine? - Any way up - Either way up - Any way round - Meal for two - The French connection - Yum yum - Happy meal (USA) 70.. Three score and ten - Blind 70 - Big O (USA) 71.. Bang on the drum - Lucky one 72.. A crutch and a duck - Six dozen - Par for the course (golf) - Lucky two 73.. Crutch with a flea - Queen B - Under the tree - Lucky three 74.. Candy store - Grandmamma of Bingo - Lucky four 75.. Strive and strive - Big Daddy - Granddaddy of Bingo - Lucky five 76..

Trombones - Seven 'n' six - was she worth it? - Lucky six 77.. Sunset strip - All the sevens - Two little crutches - The double hockey stick - Lucky seven 78.. Heavens gate - Lucky eight 79.. One more time - Lucky nine 80.. Gandhi's breakfast - Blind 80 - Eight and blank - There you go matey 81.. Fat lady and a little wee - Stop and run - Corner shot 82.. Fat lady with a duck - Straight on through 83.. Fat lady with a flea - Time for tea - Ethel's Ear 84.. Seven dozen 87.. Fat lady with a crutch - Torquay in Devon 88.. Two fat ladies - Wobbly wobbly - All the eights 89.. Nearly there - All but one 90.. Top of the shop - Top of the house - Blind 90 - As far as we go - End of the line Explanations of some nicknames: 1 Kelly's eye: In reference to the one-eyed Australian bushranger gangster Ned Kelly. (Note: apparently this explanation is incorrect.

A viewer from Australia sent this message: "Ned Kelly didn't have one eye! He didn't even lose an eye in the shoot out at Glenrowan. And when he was wearing his helmet, you couldn't even see his eyes through the slot." But another Australian viewer sent this explanation: "The reason for "Kellys eye" may have been referring to Ned Kelly's helmet, which had one large slot for his eyes that looked like one eye.") 2 One little duck: The shape looks a bit like a swan. 3 One little flea: Looks a bit like a flea. 7 One little crutch: Looks like a crutch. 8 One fat lady: Resembles the two halves of a large lady. 9 Doctor's orders: A pill known as Number 9 was a laxative given out by army doctors in Britain. Apparently in the second world war in Britain doctors wrote on sick notes a 9 pm curfew, thus if patients were found out of their homes after that time they were violating their sick note. (Provided by a visitor) The curfew story's not true. In the Great War, however, there was such a thing as a "number nine" pill, that was freely prescribed for virtually everything.

(Provided by another visitor) 10 Downing street: UK Prime Minister's address, 10 Downing Street. 12 Royal salute: As in, a 21-gun salute for a Royal birthday or other celebration. 13 Bakers Dozen: Bakers in olden times used to make one extra piece of bread/cookie etc to the dozen ordered by a customer so they could do a taste test before it was sold to the customer, hence the phrase. 17 Dancing queen: From the Abba song of the same name. Over-ripe: Opposite of tender; 14 and 17 straddle 16 which is sweet! 23 Lord's My Shepherd: From Psalm 23. 26 Bed and breakfast: Traditionally the cost of a nights' lodgings was 2 shillings sixpence, or two and six. 26 Half a crown: Equivalent to 2'6d. Or two and six. 39 The famous steps; all the steps: From the 1935 Hitchcock film 59 The Brighton Line: The London-Brighton service was no. 59.

65 Old age pension: 'Pension' age in the UK is at the age of 65. 76 Seven 'n' six - was she worth it?: The price of the marrige licence, seven shillings and six pence. A marriage license may have been 7/6 (37.5p in new money) once upon a time, but 7/6 was more recently the cost of a "short time" with a lady of negotiable affection.... (Provided by a visitor) 78 Heavens gate: it rhymes: heaven-seven, gate-eight. 80 Gandhi's breakfast: in reference to Ghandi�s famous peace protest, in which he abstained from food - Imagine him sitting crosslegged with a big empty plate in front of him, looking from above. Another suggested explanation: ate (8) nothing (0). 81 Corner shot: Generally used in Military clubs tambola aka housie in India; origin unknown. 83 Ethel's Ear: Fat lady beside ear-shaped three. (Above explanations are courtesy of visitors' feedback and bbc.co.uk ) Bingo Rules . Glossary . * Nicknames . Tips . Strategy . Patterns . Books . Links .

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Bingo Calls - Eyes down for all you need to know about the game of Bingo Bingo Calls Traditional bingo calls Bingo calls have been an essential part of the game of bingo for years. It is hard to say when the bingo calls we know today were introduced. But we know they were already in use when bingo become popular in the 1960s. In recent years the bingo halls have struggled to survive which is obviously not good news for us bingo players. Less bingo halls means less competition and less choice. On the positive side the world of online bingo has emerged in recent years presenting a wealth of choice. Although there is a multitude out there, we follow them all pretty closely and keep our eyes open (and down!) for the best sites and promotions. Below are our top 5 recommended bingo sites. Bingo Site Keep coming back to us because we update this information regularly as promotions change. Traditional Bingo Calls Words or phrases in brackets after a bingo call refer to the traditional shouted response from the bingo players. This is sometimes known as bingo lingo. You will also find that some bingo calls refer to more than one number – such as ‘Danny LaRue’. There is no ‘correct’ way round to call the numbers.

Some bingo callers will call the number and then the saying. Others will call the saying then the number. But most will mix them as certain bingo calls just ‘sound right’ a certain way. Those calls listed below tend to be British in origin. Though anyone looking closely at the history of bingo will see that it has been – and still is – played all over the world. While this site as a whole tends to concentrate upon bingo sites UK , there are also many other quality bingo operators available where you can choose from many bingo games . The games themselves will be similar in that 90 ball bingo (the British version) and 75 ball bingo (the U.S. version) tend today to be available on all sites along with 80 ball bingo, speed bingo and many other variations.

1 : Kelly’s eye | at the beginning | buttered scone 2 : one little duck | me and you | Little Boy Blue 3 : you and me | cup of tea | one little flea | goodness me 4 : knock at the door | the one next door 5 : man alive | one little snake 6 : Tom Mix | chopsticks | Tom’s tricks | half a dozen | chopping sticks 7 : lucky | one little crutch | God’s in Heaven 8 : garden gate | one fat lady | she’s always late | Golden Gate 9 : doctor’s orders | doctor’s joy 10 : David’s den | uncle Ben | cock and hen 11 : legs 12 : one dozen | monkey’s cousin 13 : unlucky for some | bakers dozen | the Devil’s number 14 : the lawnmower | Valentines day 15 : young and keen 17 : often been kissed | dancing queen | old Ireland 18 : coming of age | now you can vote 19 : end of the teens | goodbye teens 20 : one score 21 : key of the door | royal salute 22 : two little ducks (quack quack)

 | ducks on a pond | dinkie-doo 23 : The Lord is My Shepherd | thee and me | a duck and a flea 24 : knock at the door | two dozen 25 : duck and dive 26 : half a crown | pick and mix | bed and breakfast 27 : duck and a crutch | gateway to heaven 28 : in a state | overweight | The Old Braggs | a duck and its mate 29 : rise and shine | in your prime | you’re doing fine 30 : Dirty Gertie | Burlington Bertie 31 : get up and run 32 : buckle my shoe 50 : half a century | bullseye | Hawaii five oh 51 : tweak of the thumb | The Highland Div 52 : Danny La Rue | The Lowland Div | pack of cards | weeks in a year 53 : here comes Herbie (beep beep) | stuck in a tree | The Welsh Div | the joker 54 : house with a bamboo door | clean the floor 55 : snakes alive | bunch of fives 56 : Shotts bus | was she worth it?

(she was) 57 : Heinz | Heinz varieties | beans means Heinz 58 : make them wait | choo choo Thomas 59 : the Brighton Line (woo-woo) 60 : five dozen | three score 61 : bakers bun 62 : tickety-boo | turn of the screw | to Waterloo 63 : tickle me 64 : red raw | The Beatle’s number 65 : stop work | retirement age 66 : clickety click 67 : made in heaven | the argumentative number 68 : saving grace 69 : anyway up | the same both ways 70 : three score and ten 71 : bang on the drum 72 : Danny LaRue | six dozen | par for the course 73 : queen bee | a crutch and a flea | camomile tea 74 : candy store 75 : strive and strive | on the skive | Big Daddy 76 : was she worth it?

(she was) | trombones 77 : two little crutches | sunset strip 78 : heaven’s gate 80 : Gandhi’s breakfast | four score | there you go matey 81 : stop and run 82 : straight on through | fat lady with a duck 83 : time for tea | fat lady and a flea | Ethel’s ear 84 : seven dozen 87 : Torquay in Devon | fat lady with a crutch 88 : two fat ladies (wobbly wobbly) | Connaught Rangers 89 : nearly there | almost there | all but one 90 : four score and ten | top of the shop | end of the line | top of the house general bingo calls on it’s own – number four | on it’s own – number five etc numbers ending in zero blind thirty | blind forty etc numbers with two digits the same all the threes – thirty three | all the fours – forty four etc all remaining numbers two and four – twenty four | three and eight – thirty eight etc Of course this is not a complete list – there are many funny – and rude! – calls made today.

Also bingo calls have changed – and been forgotten – over the years. This bingo lingo has varied and often unknown origins. Even different regions have – or had – their own bingo calls which were specific to their dialect, customs or local landmarks. Playing in a bingo hall or a game of village bingo in Scotland will most likely be very different to playing on the south coast of England! Online betting sites operate in a very competitive environment and put in great effort to recruit players. You can take advantage of this by looking through some of the sites that offer review and bonus information about the competing sites. And don’t forget that this can mean more than just playing bingo! Many larger sites also offer a whole array of gaming options such as casino games , lotteries, games, poker and even sportsbooks. International players who enjoy playing bingo online may also like to try playing these other games. A great internationally focused website to visit is 101OnlineCasino.com. They offer reviews, ratings and other useful information. Players from the United States are best suited visiting a page intended for US casino players that offers listings of online gaming sites that focus on players from America. While players from other countries and regions would be advised to look locally for their own gaming options.

We are proud to be partnered with the following:- Don’t shout “bingo” when you can shout “jackpot” with massive online casino bonuses at CanadianOnlineCasinos.club . The place for the biggest progressive jackpots for Canadians. We are listed on Blog Directory List your business in the premium hotvsnot.com web directory for free This website is listed under Party Games Directory Basic Bingo Number Calling Rules Home > Number Calling Rules Bingo Number Calling Rules In the Bingo halls, the numbers are announced according to specific Bingo number calling rules. The numbers are called quickly, so you are to pay attention and mark them quickly before the next one is called. The caller keeps on calling the numbers till one or several of the players scream "Bingo". The game stops than and the numbers are verified. The new game starts as soon as the winner is verified. Moreover, some games offer special patterns, extra options and a chance to win a progressive jackpot. Patterns of Numbers in Bingo In order to call the number in bingo you should know some of the nicknames, which are used by players: 1.Kelly's eye and Buttered scone, and At the beginning, First on the board 2.

Me and you and One little duck, Little boy blue 3. Dearie me and Debbie McGee, One little flea 4.The one next door and On the floor, Bobby Moore 5. Man alive, Jack's alive, little snake 6. Tom's tricks, Chopsticks 7.God's in heaven, and Lucky seven, One little crutch 8. At the gate and Harry Tate, Sexy Kate, She's always late, One fat lady, Is she in yet 9. Doctor's orders 10. Uncle Ben (rhyming), Gordon's den 11. Legs eleven, and Legs - they're lovely Chicken legs, Skinny legs 12. One dozen and Monkey's cousin, One doz' if one can and One and two - a dozen 13. Unlucky for some 15. Rugby team, Young and keen and Yet to be kissed 16. She’s lovely and Sweet sixteen, Never been kissed 17. Old Ireland, Over-ripe, Dancing queen and Posh and Becks 18. Key of the door, and Now you can vote and Coming of age 19. Goodbye teens 20.

One score and Blind 20 21. Key of the door and Royal salute Just my age, If only I was.. 22. Quack quack, Ducks on a pond, Bishop Desmond, All the twos, Put your 22's on, Toot too 23. A duck and a flea, Thee and me 24. Two dozen, Did you score? 25. Duck and dive, Wish to have wife 26. Half a crown and Bed and breakfast, Pick and mix 27. Little Duck with a crutch,Gateway to heaven 28.The old brags, Duck & its mate 29. In your prime 30. Dirty Gertie, and Speed limit, Burlington Bertie, Flirty thirty, Your face is dirty 31. Get up and run 32. Three and two and Buckle my Shoe, and Three ducks 33. Dirty knees, Two little fleas 34. Ask for more 69. Either way up and Any way up, The French connection and Yum yum 70. Blind 70, and Three score and ten 71.

Lucky one, and Bang on the drum 72. A crutch and a duck, Par for the course 73. Lucky three 74. Lucky four, and Candy store 75. Lucky five, Big Daddy 76. Seven 'n' six - was she worth it?, and Lucky six 77. All the sevens, and Lucky seven 78. Heavens gate 79. Lucky nine, One more time 80. Blind 80, Gandhi's breakfast 81. Stop and run and Corner shot 82. Fat lady with a duck and Straight on through 83. Fat lady with a flea, and Time for tea 84. Seven dozen 86. Eight and Six, and Between the sticks 87. Torquay in Devon and Fat lady with a crutch 88. Two fat ladies, Wobbly wobbly 89. Nearly there 90. Top of the shop, As far as we go As one can see, most of the balls according to the Bingo Calling Numbers rules are called this way to either rhyme or provide a clear idea of the ball being named.

If you visit online casinos to play Bingo, casino roulette or online slot machines you do not have to be so attentive as most options are completely automatic. Bingo Number Names History And Meanings Part 2: Calls 1 - 45 - Bingo History - Playing Bingo Part two of Dr Carolyn Downs history of bingo number calls, their importance and their origins. Author: Carolyn Downs The Calls - Part 1 This list is by no means conclusive; bingo calls vary between towns, between settings and between callers; similarly, some that appear to be either rhymes or visual puns may have other meanings too, that have not yet been tracked down. 1. Kelly's eye, Buttered Scone, At the Beginning, Nelson’s Column, Little Jimmy. There is no agreement about the origin of Kelly’s eye, but this is the most common of the calls for number one. A possible origin is the popular music hall song, ‘Has Anybody Here Seen Kelly?’ (1907) by C.W. Murphy and Will Letters. The original version included a line about Kelly being from the Isle of Man and was popularised in England by Florrie Forde who recorded the song. William J.

McKenna altered the lyrics in 1909 to make the song more suitable for the Irish Americans who frequented the American vaudeville. [ 1 ] Has anybody here seen Kelly? K E double L Y Has anybody here seen Kelly? Have you seen him smile? Sure his hair is red His eyes are blue And He’s Irish thru and thru Has anybody here seen Kelly? Kelly from the Emerald Isle.[ 2 ] The lyrics are now associated with St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in the United States of America and are mentioned in James Joyce’s novel Ulysses as a popular working class song. Valiant comic adopted the term Kelly’s Eye in its first edition, published at the height of the commercial bingo boom in 1962, indicating that press reports of the games popularity amongst the young when it was first commercialised were not necessarily exaggerated. Tim Kelly (the hero) found the good eye (a big diamond which he wore round his neck) and had to find the evil eye and destroy it to save the world; Fleetway comics published Valiant as a companion comic to Hurricane. While an origin for the term Kelly’s Eye, cannot be traced, as dictionaries of slang all give the origin as military, used in bingo.

‘Little Jimmy’ is a later call, and relates to Little Jimmy Osmond who had a string of hits (the first in 1972) popular with middle aged ladies. 2. One Little Duck, Me an' you, Dirty Old Jew, Baby’s Done It, Doctor Who. ‘One Little Duck’ is the first of the visual puns that are a common feature of many calls. The other calls used to represent the number two reflect a clear progression over time. The oldest two are ‘Me an' you’, (cockney) ‘Dirty Old Jew’, (acceptable terminology in pre-World War Two England). ‘Baby’s Done It’ refers back to the euphemism for defecation ‘doing a number two’, while ‘Dr. Who’ cannot have been adopted into the lexicography of the game until after 1963. 3. Goodness me! I’m Free, Debbie McGee, One Little Flea. While ‘Goodness me!’ appears to have no particular context other than a simple rhyme, ‘I’m Free’ and ‘Debbie McGee’ are both television related, and refer to extremely popular BBC1 programmes.

‘I’m free!’ was the catchphrase of John Inman who played the character Mr. Humphries in the sitcom ‘Are you Being Served?’ the feed line was ‘Are you free Mr. Humphries?’ the series ran from 1972. ‘Debbie McGee’ was the assistant to the television magician Paul Daniels, whose show run from 1979. As with all of the other television related bingo calls, the popularity of the programme with a mass audience seems to be essential for an element from the show to enter into popular use. ‘One Little Flea’ is a visual pun; close inspection of the body of a flea reveals it to have a shape not dissimilar to a figure ‘3’ rotated 180o anti-clockwise. 4. Knock at the Door. This call may have been adopted because it is part of a popular children’s nursery rhyme, ‘One two, buckle my shoe, three four, knock at the door’. 5. Jack's Alive, Dead Alive, Man Alive. ‘Man Alive’ was the BBC documentary strand that pioneered modern techniques of reportage, first broadcast in 1965.

The inclusion of this BBC2 programme suggests that it had a wide popular base, and certainly, its reporters did establish a degree of celebrity not usually accorded to those working on the channel. 6. Tom Mix, Spot Below, Chopsticks. ‘Spot Below’ was a common call in military games, because numbers that could be mis-read had a spot underneath to prevent confusion. The survival of ‘Tom Mix’ as a call (heard on Margate seafront as recently as summer 2003) is surprising. He was one of the original cowboy heroes, starring in silent movies and never really making it in talkies. His career lasted from 1909 to 1935, during which period he made 336 feature films of which only nine were talkies. The films were noted for fast action and daredevil stunts performed by Tom Mix himself.[ 3 ] 7. One Little Crutch, God's in Heaven, Lucky Seven. ‘One Little Crutch’ is another visual pun, and may perhaps date the First World War when there were many injured men using crutches to aid their mobility.

All of these calls appear in accounts of games held in the 1950s, and may very well date back to the First World War. Seven has been considered a lucky number since at least the time of Pythagoras, when the number was considered to be the perfect number, 3 and 4, the triangle and the square, while in ancient times there were seven visible planets and seven days of the week. God’s in Heaven is a simple rhyme for seven, but may also link to the popular poem by Robert Browning that was learned in classrooms up and down the Empire, The year's at the spring, And day's at the morn; Morning's at seven; The hill-side's dew-pearl'd; The lark's on the wing; The snail's on the thorn; God's in His heaven-- All's right with the world! 8. One fat lady, Garden Gate, Harry Tate, Gareth Gates. ‘One fat lady’ is a visual pun and garden gate is a simple rhyme that appears in counting and skipping games linked with the number 8.

Harry Tate is an interesting call that appears to derive from the music hall in the early twentieth century and have been widely adopted by the military as a slang phrase that could cover a multitude of purposes. Harry Tate (1872-1940) was the stage name of Ronald Hutchison [ 4 ]. First as a solo performer and then as part of a double act with his son he was a top-of-the-bill act with a range of sketches that generated many popular catchphrases. These included ‘Goodbye-ee’, (the source of the popular World War One song) ‘How’s your father?’ and ‘I don’t think!’ The popularity of Harry Tate led to his name being adopted as a nickname for Major-General (Thomas) Herbert Shoubridge (1871-1923), who bore a remarkable facial resemblance to the comedian and the 1916 aircraft the RE8, not generally considered one of the best of those developed by Duxbridge [ 5 ].

However, the military did not stop applying his name to other purposes, including any Royal Naval Mate plus a type of slide rule, sugar (Tate and Lyle) and any chaotic situation that arose (the link with chaotic situations was because Harry Tate’s comic sketches always involved a large element of chaos). In the Second World War the name was adopted by The Royal Naval Patrol Service or Harry Tate's Navy, a unit whose fleet was made up of hundreds of trawlers, whalers, drifters, paddle steamers, yachts, tugs and other sea-going craft, designated ‘Minor War Vessels’ by the Admiralty. It seems likely that the use of Harry Tate as a call in housey-housey dates back to the First World War. Harry Tate (1872-1940) University Of Birmingham Centre for First World War Studies. Gareth Gates is a recent addition to the canon; he was the runner up in a popular television talent competition in 2002. 9. Doctor's Orders or Doctors Joy. Doctor’s Joy was the nickname for a purgative pill issued in the Royal Navy. 10.

Cock an’ ‘en, Downing Street, Maggie’s Den, Tony’s Den, Uncle Ben’s ‘Cockle Cock and Hen’. This claimed as cockney rhyming slang for number 10. [ 6 ] Interestingly, ‘John’s Den’ (for John Major), never took off, while the various prime ministers before Margaret Thatcher were not honoured by a bingo call, the address had a greater impact on mass consciousness than the incumbent before 1979. Uncle Ben’s is a brand of long-grain rice 11. Legs Eleven, Legs - they're lovely. The reference to legs in this call is another visual pun. Popular artist Jack Vettriano, himself brought up in a seaside resort, used the phrase as a title for one of his pictures – featuring a pair of elegant female legs. The Valiant did not restrict its adoption of popular bingo phrases into the ‘Kelly’s Eye’ strip, the comic also included ‘Legge's Eleven’, about a football team of social outcasts. [ 7 ] From here on, the double numbers, with the exceptions listed, are called with ‘and’ between the tens and digits. 12. One and two, a dozen, Monkey’s Cousin.

This is cockney rhyming slang, and rhymes with dozen 13. Unlucky For Some or Lucky For Some. This number is considered unlucky in most Western cultures, although in Italy it is thought to be a lucky number. [ 8 ] In Christianity the number is considered significant as a portent of the crucifixion, since there were thirteen present at the Last Supper. 14. Valentine’s Day. Again an age related call. 20. Blind twenty, Getting Plenty. The prefix ‘blind’ is used for the numbers 10-90 and is possibly a visual reference to zero looking like a single eye. 21. Coming of Age 21. Key of the Door, Royal Salute. ‘Bank Bang Bang'. Until 1 January 1970 the age of majority in Great Britain was twenty-one ‘Royal Salute’ and ‘Bank bang-bang’, are naval calls referring to a twenty-one-gun salute. 22. PC Parker, All the Twos, Dinkie Doo, Ducks on a Pond.

Two Little Ducks PC Parker is another call (like ‘Sweet Sixteen’ and ‘Tom Mix’) that is still in use and is datable to the very early development of the British game. It refers to a very popular music hall character (c1910) created by Charles Austin (died 1944). The constable’s number may have been 22, but this is not clear. The character was immortalised by the cartoonist Will Spurrier for the magazine 'Funny Cuts'. [ 11 ] A popular aspect of the British seaside holiday was the end-of-the-pier concert party. ‘Dinkie Doo’ was a generic name for such concert parties, and was immortalised in the Ealing Comedy, starring George Formby ‘Let George Do It’ (1940). The film was the first Ealing comedy set in wartime Europe. George Formby was cast as a member of the Dinkie Doo Concert Party, and in typical Ealing style ended up in Norway acting as a British spy. [ 12 ] 23. Thee and Me, The Lords my Shepherd, A Duck with a Flea.

The inclusion of ‘The Lords my Shepherd’ (Psalm 23) in lists of calls is surprising, although it may have originated in the Catholic social clubs that did so much to popularise bingo in the 1950s. ‘A Duck with a Flea’ is a visual call. 24. Two Dozen, Pompey Whore. [ 13 ] Despite listening to a number of games called at various ex-services club I have not heard the call ‘Pompey Whore’. However, it is claimed as a call on a website listing military calls and would relate to the navel town of Portsmouth, nicknamed Pompey by generations of sailors. That the call is not heard in ex-services clubs does not mean it was not used on naval vessels, simply that it is not considered suitable for use in mixed company. 25. Duck and Dive. This phrase may originally have come from boxing, as it is used in accounts of boxing matches reported in the early nineteenth century.[ 14 ] However, the phrase has come to mean slippery or sneaky behaviour of any type in popular idiom. 26. Bed and Breakfast, Half a Crown, Pick and Mix.

All of the calls still in use for 26 refer back to pre-decimal coinage. The most common call still used is ‘Bed and Breakfast’ and seems to be the cost of a night in a guesthouse in old money, ‘Pick and Mix’ refers to the pre-decimal cost of half a pound of sweets from Woolworth’s. 27. Little Duck with a Crutch Another visual pun. 28. The Old Brags, In a State, Over Weight. ‘The Old Brags’ is a nickname for the British regiment of 1/28th Foot The North Gloucestershire Regiment (later the 28 / 61st Gloucestershire Regiment) The nickname was in honour of Colonel Philip Bragg, who commanded the 28th Foot from 1734 to his death in 1759. ‘Overweight’ is a visual pun referring to the numeral ‘8’ also referred to as ‘Fat Lady’. 29. Rise and Shine, You’re Doing Fine, In Your Prime. ‘Rise and Shine’ is idiomatic use of language, with the phrase often used facetiously in the armed forces to encourage the troops to get out of bed.

‘In Your Prime’ is a reference to age, while ‘You’re Doing Fine’ is a simple rhyme. 30. Blind Thirty, Burlington Bertie, Speed Limit, Dirty Gertie, Flirty Thirty, Blind 3. One of the oldest of this collection; and a surviving call that can still be heard in seaside arcades is ‘Burlington Bertie’. This is another popular music hall number first published in 1900 (music and lyrics by Harry B Norris) and made famous by Vesta Tilley. Ella Shields, also a male impersonator, sang a parody, ‘Burlington Bertie from Bow’, with words and tune by William Hargreaves, published in 1914, this was also vary popular. ‘Speed Limit’, the thirty mph speed limit is perhaps older than many people think, as it was established in built-up areas in 1935. ‘Dirty Gertie’, may be taken from the 1946 film of that name, although it may just have been an attractive rhyme. [ 15 ] 31. Get up and Run.

This may be linked to the services; Sergeants might well have shouted it at squaddies, but it may just be a simple rhyming phrase that has been adopted. 32. Buckle my Shoe. Jimmy Choo. See children’s song at ‘4’, this has been updated with the call ‘Jimmy Choo’, an upmarket shoe designer made famous in Britain by the tabloid press as a result of his association with Princess Diana. 33. All the Threes, Three Feathers, Gertie Lee, Dirty Knees, ‘Sherwood Forest’, Two Little Fleas, Blind Thirty. ‘Three Feathers’ indicates the Prince of Wales, and although it may derive from the current Prince of Wales, it seems more likely to refer back to the period (1911-1936) when Edward VIII was Prince of Wales.. ‘Sherwood Forest’ is an interesting play on words; ‘all the threes’ could be pronounced ‘all the trees’ especially by callers with an Irish accent, and there are a lot of trees in Sherwood Forest. ‘Two Little Fleas’ is a visual reference to the shape of the insects. 34. Ask for More.

This is a rhyming phrase and perhaps refers to the Lionel Bart musical ‘Oliver’ that popularised the Dickens novel ‘Oliver Twist’ when it was first produced in 1963. 35. Jump and Jive. The Jive was popularised in the 1940s, as a European version of the US Jitterbug. 36. Three Dozen Self-explanatory. 37. More than Eleven. The origins of this call have eluded efforts to track them down, so it is categorised as a simple rhyme with the caveat that the actual origin is as yet unknown. 38. Christmas Cake. Again a simple rhyme. 39. Steps, Those Famous Steps, All the steps. The John Buchan book (1914) was a best seller in the Edwardian period, but is unlikely to be the inspiration for the bingo call. The Hitchcock film (1935) of the book was a huge success and is a more likely inspiration. The call may have been kept in the public imagination as it was re-made in 1959 and 1978. 40.

Blind forty, Life Begins, Life begins at Forty, Naughty Forty, Two Score. These calls are all age related, with forty being considered a milestone birthday in Britain. Eric Partridge gives the origin of the phrase ‘Life begins at 40’ to the book by W.B. Pitkin (1932) and the title of the self-help book is said to have become a catch-phrase in America within a year of the book’s publication.[ 16 ] The book was considered a ‘publishing phenomenon and generated popular songs and films with the same title. [ 17 ] 41. Time for Fun, Life’s Begun. These link back to the call for forty. 42. Famous Street in Manhattan, Winnie the Pooh. 42nd Street was a hit movie in 1933, later becoming hugely popular as a musical. The two calls commonly used are almost certainly post 1960. Interestingly, the Douglas Adams Restaurant at the End of the Universe (part 2 of the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy), which features the number 42, does not appear in any calls.

This is probably because whilst it is very well known amongst the chattering classes and of no relevance at all to those who play bingo. ‘Winnie the Pooh’ first appeared in the House at Pooh Corner in 1928, but the mass popularisation of the character really dates to the Disney adaptations, the first of which was released in 1966. 43. Down on your Knees. Most likely just a simple rhyme, as there does not seem to be a religion or cleaning-related link here. 44. All the fours, Droopy Drawers, Open Two Doors. Aldershot Ladies, Diana Dors. These calls offer a flavour of the various types of calls associated with the game. ‘Aldershot Ladies’ is another call claimed to be of military origin, and relies on the use of whores, which rhymes with four being replaced by the euphemism ‘ladies’.[ 18 ] Diana Dors rhymes with ‘All the Fours’, but in addition, Diana Dors was a regular on the cash bingo circuit, opening new clubs and calling celebrity games to attract large audiences.

She was reputedly paid £300 cash for appearances in bingo halls.[ 19 ] ‘Open Two Doors’ is a visual pun while ‘Droopy Drawers’ is probably a simple rhyme. 45. Halfway house, Halfway There. Bingo uses the numbers one to ninety.

Question: ‘A duck and a flea’ is the Bingo call for which number?
Answer: 23