Bingo is one of the most popular games around and started off as a church game. It has evolved into the one of the games that is most played worldwide. Bingo calls have been around since about the 1960’s.
Traditional bingo calls are phrases that are used by bingo callers. There is really no right or wrong way to call numbers. The way that it is done will depend on the bingo caller. Some will call the bingo number and then the bingo phrase. Then there are some that just call only the numbers.
Here are some commonly used bingo calls for Numbers 1-30:
1- Kelly’s Eye- Named after Ned Kelly, a gangster from Australia with one eye.
2- One little duck- Some think ducks resemble the number two.
3- One little flea- If you look at a flea lying on its side, it resembles the number three.
4- Booby Moore- Bobby Moore was a captain of the English footballer team.
5- Man Alive- This was a British documentary that started in 1965.
6- Tom Mix- Tom Mix was also known as Thomas Edwin, a silent film actor.
7- Lucky Seven- Many people consider this number a lucky number.
8- Harry Tate- Nickname for Ronald Hutchinson, a musician who was killed in WWII.
9- Doctor’s orders- During WWII, army doctors were distributing laxatives called Number 9.
10- Downing Street- The address for the prime minister of the UK.
11- Legs Eleven- The number 11 resemble a pair of long legs.
12- One dozen- There is 13 items in one dozen.
13- Baker’s dozen- A baker’s dozen contains one extra item.
14- Valentines Day- Holiday on February 14th.
15- Rugby team- A rugby team has 15 players.
16- Never been kissed- Sweet 16 and never been kissed.
17- Dancing Queen- Title of the song from Abba.
18- Coming of age- In most places, you can play bingo or vote at the age of 18.
19- Bye bye teens- At age 19, teens are saying farewell to their teen years.
20- One score- Named after counting sheep.
21- Royal salute- Military funerals have a 21 gun salute.
22- Bishop Desmond- Bishop was an activist from South Africa.
23- The Lord is my Shepherd- Refers to the Bible Psalm 23.
24- Pompey whore- Pompey was slang for Portsmouth in WWII.
25- Duck and dive- Phrase used in boxing.
26- Bed and Breakfast- Back in the day, the cost for a bed and breakfast was two shillings and a sixpence.
27- Duck with a crutch- The numbers 2 and 7 look like a duck on a crutch.
28- Duck and it’s mate- Popular bingo reference.
29- In your prime- A phrase used to cheer people up when they think they are old.
30- Burlington Bertie- This was a 1915 parody to a song that was written in 1900.
