Every bingo establishment and every bingo caller will have their own preferences when it comes to bingo, some will choose to stick with the good old fashioned bingo names, while others won’t use any at all. It usually comes down to repetitiveness and time. Obviously the more you hear something the more annoying it can be, but hearing “Kelly’s eye”… before you hear #1 makes bingo that more entertaining.
Below we have listed the most common bingo number names – also know as bingo lingo - which bingo callers use to announce bingo balls with. Making yourself familiar with the terms will not only make the game less confusing but you will gain vital extra seconds between number calling to mark your cards.
You may notice that bingo sites and bingo clubs may have different bingo lingo than what is stated below and some may have even made their own sayings for each numbers.
Usually bingo names tend to rhyme e.g. you and me…number 3! This makes the numbers and names fit better (as everyone loves a rhythm), but not all bingo names do. Some are based on wife’s tales and trivia. E.g. Doctor's orders…number 9, refers to a pill that was called Number 9 and was given as a laxative by army doctors, and one dozen…number 12, refers to a dozen which is 12, which is self explanatory really. Another thing worth mentioning is some bingo callers just stick to naming the numbers e.g. one and two…12, a little boring in our eyes, but it gets the job done.
You do not need to know the following to play bingo but it is fun if you know them. You will usually pick up the odd one when you start playing a few games of bingo. In fact, after awhile the bingo names will get implanted into your head so you will know which number is being called with the bingo name alone.
List of Bingo Ball Names
- 1 Kelly's eye / At the beginning / Nelson's column
- 2 One little duck / Me and you
- 3 You and me / Cup of tea / One Little Flea
- 4 Knock at the door / B4 (and after)
- 5 Man alive
- 6 Tom's tricks / Tom Nix / Chopsticks
- 7 Lucky seven / God's in heaven
- 8 One Fat Lady / Golden gate
- 9 Doctor's orders
- 10 Tony's Den
- 11 Legs eleven
- 12 One dozen, One and two - a dozen, Monkey's cousin (rhymes with "a dozen")
- 13 Unlucky for some, Devil's number, Bakers dozen
- 14 Valentines day
- 15 Rugby team, Young and keen
- 16 Sweet sixteen / She's lovely / Never been kissed
- 17 Often been kissed / The age to catch 'em / Dancing Queen
- 18 Key of the door / Coming of age
- 19 Goodbye teens
- 20 Getting plenty / Blind 20
- 21 Key of the door
- 22 Two little ducks / All the twos
- 23 Thee and me / The Lord is my Shepherd
- 24 Two dozen
- 25 Duck and dive
- 26 Bed and breakfast / Half a crown / Pick and mix
- 27 Little duck with a crutch / Gateway to heaven
- 28 In a state / Over weight
- 29 You're doing fine
- 30 Burlington Bertie / Dirty Gertie / Speed limit / Flirty thirty / Blind 30
- 31 Get up and run
- 32 Buckle my Shoe
- 33 Dirty knees / All the threes / All the feathers / Two little fleas / Sherwood Forest
- 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 That famous street in Manhattan / Whinny the Pooh
- 43 Down on your knees
- 44 Droopy drawers / All the fours
- 45 Halfway house / Halfway there
- 46 Up to tricks
- 47 Four and seven
- 48 Four dozen
- 49 PC (Police Constable) / Copper / Nick nick
- 50 Bulls eye / Blind 50 / Half a century
- 51 Tweak of the thumb
- 52 Weeks in a year / Danny La Rue
- 53 Stuck in the tree
- 54 Clean the floor
- 55 Snakes alive / All the fives
- 56 Was she worth it?
- 57 Heinz varieties
- 58 Make them wait / Choo choo Thomas
- 59 Brighton line
- 60 Three score / Blind 60 / Five dozen
- 61 Bakers bun
- 62 Tickety boo / Turn on the screw
- 63 Tickle me
- 64 Red raw / The Beatles number
- 65 Old age pension
- 66 Clickety click / All the sixes
- 67 Made in heaven / Argumentative number
- 68 Saving grace
- 69 The same both ways / your place or mine / Either way up / Meal for two
- 70 Three score and ten / Blind 70
- 71 Bang on the drum
- 72 A crutch and a duck / Six dozen / Par for the course
- 73 Crutch and a flea / Queen B
- 74 Candy store
- 75 Strive and strive
- 76 Trombones
- 77 Sunset strip / All the sevens / Two little crutches
- 78 Heavens gate
- 79 One more time
- 80 Gandhi's breakfast / Blind 80 / Eight and blank
- 81 Fat lady and a little wee / Stop and run
- 82 Fat lady with a duck / Straight on through
- 83 Fat lady with a flea / Time for tea / Ethel's Ear
- 84 Seven dozen
- 85 Staying alive
- 86 Between the sticks
- 87 Fat lady with a crutch / Torquay in Devon
- 88 Two fat ladies / All the eights / Wobbly wobbly
- 89 Nearly there / All but one
- 90 Top of the shop / Top of the house / Blind 90 / End of the line
Like we have mentioned above, you don't need to learn the above bingo names of by heart to enjoy a game of bingo, they are merely listed for reference and to give you an idea of what to expect.
Meanings Behind Some Bingo Names
Below are some explanations of bingo nicknames. Take in to consideration that some explanations could have possibly been misinterpreted as time has gone by. Please contact us if you have more information or any you wish to add.
1 – Kelly’s Eye. “Kelly’s Eye” and “Legs Eleven” are the most popular bingo number names. It is said that the name originated from Australian Gangster, Edward "Ned" Kelly, but there is no evidence to back this theory up however. Kelly did in fact have both eyes, but he did used to wear a helmet with only one eye slit. Maybe, a bingo caller once made fun out of a man/woman called Kelly who had one eye; I guess we will never know.
9 – Doctor’s orders. A laxative pill used to be given out in the army called number 9.
10 - (Changes). Number 10 refers to 10 Downing Street and the bingo name that follows is whoever the Prime Minister is at the time.
11 - Legs eleven (whistles). If you look at someone’s legs they look like to 1s. People usually whistle to symbolise women’s legs.
13 - Bakers Dozen. When you used to order a dozen from a baker (12) you used to receive a tester before you ordered.
17 – Dancing Queen. “You are the Dancing Queen, young and sweet, only seventeen”. You should be ashamed if you did not know this one. ABBA – Dancing Queen is a classic.
26 - Bed and breakfast. The cost of a night in a bed and breakfast was 2 shillings sixpence, also known as two and six.
52 - Danny La Rue. Yes, the name rhymes which is a plus. Danny La Rue was a famous entertainer who died in 2009.
57 - Heinz varieties. Everyone knows that products by Heinz have the number 57 wrote on them. There are not however 57 products by Heinz, this is a misconception. The numbers have special meanings to the Heinz family.
65 – Old age pension. To receive a pension in the UK you had to be 65 or over. The woman’s pension age has since been lowered.
