Although bingo has developed a number of traditions over the years, some of the biggest and most well known are the nicknames given to the different numbers. Most of the 90 numbers used in bingo have their own nicknames which have developed over time, and most are still used by bingo callers in halls throughout the United Kingdom.

Sometimes these nicknames evolved based on the shapes of the numbers, with 88′s nickname of ‘Two Fat Ladies’ and 22′s title of ‘Two Little Ducks’ being the most well known examples. However, there are many other ways in which the numbers earned their nicknames.

For example, the nickname for number 10 is generally a political reference geared towards the current Prime Minister, as a nod towards the leader’s home at Number 10 Downing Street. The nickname takes the form of the PM’s first name followed by the word ‘den’, so with current Prime Minister David Cameron in charge a bingo caller would announce the number as “David’s Den, Number Ten!”

There are also references to popular culture in bingo number nicknames, as number 57 is often referred to as ‘Heinz Beans’ due to the Heinz ’57 Varieties’ marketing slogan. Number 53 is also often called out as ‘Here Comes Herbie!’ as 53 was the number of the famed fictitious racing car.

In another tradition, if a bingo caller announced 53 as ‘Here Comes Herbie!’ then the players often respond with the words ‘Beep Beep!’

Jun 29 2010