Online bingo is one of the most popular casino games online and if you’ve ever played it at home, or tried out traditional bingo at a bingo hall, then you’ll probably have noticed some pretty unusual naming conventions. Don’t worry, you don’t need to get your ears tested if you hear something about little ducks or the Prime Minister’s den.

Bingo is one of the online casino games that have a rich and varied history and many of the names for the numbers were developed many years ago, so they can be pretty hard to grasp. In this blog post, we’re going to clear up any confusion to make your online casino gaming experience a little easier when you play bingo, as well as take a quick look at the story behind some of the most famous number call signs.

The history behind the most popular call signs

We want you to enjoy your time on our site as much as possible and understanding bingo call signs and how they originated can make a big difference.

Here are how some bingo numbers got their call signs.

2: One Little Duck

The number two was given the call sign “one little duck” due to the fact that it looks similar to a small duck swimming across the surface of a pond.

7: Lucky Seven

The number seven is lucky in many cultures throughout the world, particularly in the East, where it is a very lucky number to bet on. Lucky number seven originated from the game of Craps, where rolling a seven is necessary to win pass line bets.

9: Doctor’s Orders

This one harks back to World War II, where doctors would prescribe a laxative tablet to soldiers that was called Number Nine.

10: Prime Minister’s Den

The number 10 has been named after 10 Downing Street where the British Prime Minister lives and the call changes with each new representative. In 2022 it’s called Boris’s Den, but it would have been called Theresa’s Den (after Theresa May) previously, and so on.

11: Legs Eleven

In the same manner that the number two was named after its shape, so was the number 11. It was thought that the number resembled a pair of shapely legs and often players would wolf whistle in response to this number being called out.

16: Never Been Kissed

The number 16 got its name from the song Sweet Sixteen and Never Been kissed by the Blue Mountaineers.

20: One Score

This is an old phrase that used to be used to describe the number 20, it was referenced by Abraham Lincoln in his Gettysburg Address.

23: The Lord is My Shepherd

These are the first words that you’ll find in Psalm 23 of the Old Testament in the bible. It is one of the most renowned and repeated Christian verses throughout the world.

55: All the Fives

This is a pretty easy one to grasp, as it’s simply describing the fact that there are two fives here. It is also sometimes applied to other double numbers, such as ‘all the threes, 33’ and ‘all the fours, 44’.

56: Was She Worth It?

The pre-decimal price of a marriage licence in the UK used to be 5/6d and when 56 was called out, the caller often asked “Was she worth it?” and the crowd would respond with “Every penny.”

77: Sunset Strip

This pays homage to a popular TV show that was around in the 1960s called 77 Sunset Strip. The crowd would often sing the theme tune back to the caller when 77 was drawn from the cage.

88: Two Fat Ladies

Certainly not the kindest of all the bingo call signs, 88 is another number that is named after its shape. Obviously, it’s based on two women and how their bodies looked.

Complete glossary of bingo call signs

1. Kelly’s eye
2. One little duck
3. Cup of tea
4. Knock at the door
5. Man alive
6. Tom Mix/Half a dozen
7. Lucky seven
8. Garden gate
9. Doctor’s orders
10. [Prime Minister’s name] den

1. Legs eleven
2. One dozen
3. Unlucky for some
4. Valentine’s Day
5. Young and Keen
6. Sweet 16 and never been kissed
7. Dancing queen
8. Coming of age
9. Goodbye teens
10. One score
11. Royal salute/Key of the doot
12. Two little ducks
13. Thee and me
14. Two dozen
15. Duck and dive
16. Pick and mix
17. Gateway to heaven
18. In a state/overweight
19. Rise and shine
20. Dirty Gertie
21. Get up and run
22. Buckle my shoe
23. Dirty knee/All the threes/Fish, chips & peas
24. Ask for more
25. Jump and jive
26. Three dozen
27. More than eleven
28. Christmas cake
29. 39 steps
30. Life begins
31. Time for fun
32. Winnie the Pooh
33. Down on your knees
34. Droopy drawers
35. Halfway there
36. Up to tricks
37. Four and seven
38. Four dozen
39. PC
40. Half a century
41. Tweak of the thumb
42. Danny La Rue
43. Here comes Herbie
44. Clean the floor
45. Snakes alive
46. Was she worth it?
47. Heinz varieties
48. Make them wait
49. Brighton Line
50. Five dozen/Grandma’s getting frisky
51. Baker’s bun
52. Turn the screw/Tickety-boo
53. Tickle me
54. Red raw
55. Old age pension
56. Clickety click
57. Stairway to heaven
58. Pick a mate
59. Any way up
60. Three score and ten
61. Bang on the drum
62. Six dozen
63. Queen bee
64. Hit the floor
65. Strive and strive
66. Trombones
67. Sunset strip
68. 39 more steps
69. One more time
70. Gandhi’s breakfast
71. Stop and run
72. Straight on through
73. Time for tea
74. Seven dozen
75. Staying alive
76. Between the sticks
77. Torquay in Devon
78. Two fat ladies
79. Nearly there
80. Top of the shop/end of the line/as far as we go

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Now that you know your bingo call signs, it’s time to put your memory to the test and play the game!

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