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29 Jul 22 - 03:10 AM (#4148621) Subject: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Senoufou I've taken to going out to local bingo sessions, but I've found that the old-fashioned terms are now forbidden. For example, "Two fat ladies eighty-eight" or "Seven-and-six. Was she worth it?" (referring to the old cost of a marriage licence). But one has remained:"All the ones, eleven" whereupon everyone whistles (whee whoo!) because eleven looks like two legs. I used to enjoy the old number-calls. "Two little ducks" (quack! quack! ie 22) "Doctor's orders number nine" (a laxative, popular decades ago) Does anyone else remember these? I took my errant husband along to a bingo session at our village hall last Wednesday, and he whistled enthusiastically at "Legs eleven". Considering he's never played bingo before and his English is a bit rocky, he coped very well and dabbed away with gusto. And he won a full house!! (£14) He's determined to go again next week. Watch out for a Daily Star article "Bingo Saved My Marriage" says old Norfolk lady. |
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29 Jul 22 - 06:39 AM (#4148632) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Georgiansilver Any way up 69. Downing Street number 10, Never been kissed, sweet 16 ( not very applicable these days ), Kellys eye number 1, Droopy drawers number 44. |
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29 Jul 22 - 09:36 AM (#4148646) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Senoufou Ah yes, Georgian. But "Number 10" used to be 'Maggie's Den' years ago. I suppose they vary over the years. Number eight - at the gate. Key of the door - twenty one. Lucky for some - thirteen. All the sixes - clickety-click. Fifty nine - the Brighton Line (I wonder what that referred to?) Number five - snakes alive. Isn't it a shame that it's not allowed any more to use these? I suppose it's because some new people may not know them, which would put them at a disadvantage, so that another player might call "Bingo!" and beat them to a win. I asked our caller Steve, and he said it isn't allowed nowadays. |
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29 Jul 22 - 10:02 AM (#4148651) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Sandra in Sydney some years back I was waiting for my lunch in a club where people were "playing" bingo. It was very serious business. It was run by some organisation not the club staff, the caller & 2 women were in uniform with their names on their chests, not a laugh or smile anywhere. He recited numbers in a monotone, I remember him saying legs 11, people ticked their cards, eventually a woman held up her hand & one of the uniformed women approached - checking her card? I was glad to get my meal & take it outside ... then go back into the festival where people were having a good time! |
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29 Jul 22 - 11:04 AM (#4148658) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Senoufou Ha Sandra, that sounds pretty miserable! But round here, many of the villages have lovely bingo sessions once a week. I go to ones at Great Witchingham, Elsing and my own village too. There's always a tea-break halfway through and everybody has a nice chat while the raffle is drawn. If someone calls "Bingo!" everyone laughs or groans and there's always some good-natured banter. My husband was delighted when many of our village residents greeted him cheerily. I'm hoping it might encourage him to come back here to live with me again! |
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29 Jul 22 - 03:37 PM (#4148677) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Nigel Parsons 59 "Five and nine, the Brighton line" It used to be that the train to Brighton (supposedly) was a 59 minute run. (back in the days when train times were predictable) |
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30 Jul 22 - 01:22 AM (#4148706) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Senoufou Ah thank you Nigel. I've often wondered about the significance of 59. I suppose this was long before railway workers went on strike :) |
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30 Jul 22 - 02:28 AM (#4148709) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Sandra in Sydney Bingo is supposed to be fun & silliness - serious, too, you might win money!! or a prize!, but fun. |
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30 Jul 22 - 02:47 AM (#4148711) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Senoufou Quite right Sandra. I wouldn't go to a bingo session if it was too grim. Two weeks ago, our extremely kind and sweet GP surgery Practice Nurse (who lives in our village) sat next to me, and she won the 'Flyer' of ninety pounds, plus a full house of ten pounds, so she had a hundred pounds to go home with. Everyone was delighted for her, and I gave her a big hug. I've heard that the big commercial Mecca bingo sessions get rather strained and serious. Not my cup of tea, I like a good laugh and some fun. (Husband was shocked years ago at the name 'Mecca' - he's a Muslim and said this was disrespectful!) |
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30 Jul 22 - 03:08 AM (#4148715) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: DaveRo 59 "Five and nine, the Brighton line"Alternative explanation: Quote from The Importance of Being Earnest referencing trains 59 in turn references the number 59 bus running between Brighton and Shoreham-by-Sea.From List of British bingo nicknames I'm sceptical. The Brighton Belle was much-used by actors returning home after a performance. I wonder if it's something to do with that. Departure time 11:59? Platform numbers? The Brighton Belle was scheduled to take 60 minutes according to WikiPedia, so the 59 minutes is plausible; perhaps Southern ran a poster campaign: "London to Brighton in 59 minutes". Or maybe it's the reverse of 9-to-5 when you're up in town. |
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30 Jul 22 - 03:51 AM (#4148717) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Backwoodsman Back in the late ‘60s, my then band used to have a weekly gig at a local works social club. The interval bingo caller used to say, “Bugger me, number three”, and “Bugger you, number two”. |
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30 Jul 22 - 04:24 AM (#4148719) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: DaveRo DaveRo wrote: Quote from The Importance of Being EarnestThe reference is to the famous hand-bag. JACK. I have lost both my parents. LADY BRACKNELL. To lose one parent, Mr. Worthing, may be regarded as a misfortune; to lose both looks like carelessness. Who was your father? He was evidently a man of some wealth. Was he born in what the Radical papers call the purple of commerce, or did he rise from the ranks of the aristocracy? JACK. I am afraid I really don’t know. The fact is, Lady Bracknell, I said I had lost my parents. It would be nearer the truth to say that my parents seem to have lost me . . . I don’t actually know who I am by birth. I was . . . well, I was found. LADY BRACKNELL. Found! JACK. The late Mr. Thomas Cardew, an old gentleman of a very charitable and kindly disposition, found me, and gave me the name of Worthing, because he happened to have a first-class ticket for Worthing in his pocket at the time. Worthing is a place in Sussex. It is a seaside resort. LADY BRACKNELL. Where did the charitable gentleman who had a first-class ticket for this seaside resort find you? JACK. [Gravely.] In a hand-bag. LADY BRACKNELL. A hand-bag? JACK. [Very seriously.] Yes, Lady Bracknell. I was in a hand-bag—a somewhat large, black leather hand-bag, with handles to it—an ordinary hand-bag in fact. LADY BRACKNELL. In what locality did this Mr. James, or Thomas, Cardew come across this ordinary hand-bag? JACK. In the cloak-room at Victoria Station. It was given to him in mistake for his own. LADY BRACKNELL. The cloak-room at Victoria Station? JACK. Yes. The Brighton line. LADY BRACKNELL. The line is immaterial. As all gricers know, Victoria was originally two stations. The 'Brighton Side' started at platform 9. Trains also ran to Brighton from London Bridge. From Platform 5? |
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30 Jul 22 - 08:40 AM (#4148742) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: MaJoC the Filk .... Wonderful: just looked up "gricer" in Wiktionary, and found one of its synonyms is "ferroequinologist". That has quite definitely Made My Day. |
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30 Jul 22 - 03:24 PM (#4148783) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Dave the Gnome I used to enjoy making things interesting for the kids when I was home bingo caller Things like 4 and 7, 23. Kept them on their toes :-) |
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31 Jul 22 - 02:09 AM (#4148816) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Senoufou Today while sitting in a McDonald's, one of the staff (they all know me!) came up and started chatting. He told me he was a train-spotter, and called himself a 'gricer'. Now isn't life strange? I've just read the last few posts on here, and 'gricer' has come up again. I'd never met this word before. The bingo caller is very important to ones enjoyment of the game. I go to three different local bingos, and one is called by a nice lady, but she's a bit robotic and lacks enthusiasm. One has to say it's nice of her to do it as a volunteer, but the whole thing falls a bit flat. My own village one is called by a nice chap, but he makes mistakes and causes a few problems. The other one at Elsing is called by an ex-RAF chap who has a great sense of humour and makes the whole thing fun. He has the room 'under control' (he was an Officer, and it shows!) and cracks jokes to keep the interest going. |
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31 Jul 22 - 03:21 AM (#4148820) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Steve Shaw I hope you've remembered to never again try to carry the bingo balls in a damp shoe box, Dave. And as for saving money by photocopying the bingo cards... |
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31 Jul 22 - 10:04 AM (#4148853) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Dave the Gnome Don't mention Lilo Lil... |
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31 Jul 22 - 10:57 AM (#4148855) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Steve Shaw ...or Betty Swollox... |
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31 Jul 22 - 11:03 AM (#4148857) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Stilly River Sage Clueless as to how to play that game that we played in the US as children. Simply calling out the letter row and number was sufficient. There are grownup bingo parlors around town, I think it's a marginally legal form of gambling. Never had interest in it. |
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31 Jul 22 - 11:33 AM (#4148859) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Backwoodsman ”Wonderful: just looked up "gricer" in Wiktionary, and found one of its synonyms is "ferroequinologist". That has quite definitely Made My Day.” I used to work near a bloke who used to proudly announce himself as a ‘gricer’. He wrote a piece for our local rag each weak, which detailed any railway timetable changes which affected our two local stations - his nom-de-plume being ‘Ferroviaphile”. Loved it! |
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31 Jul 22 - 11:40 AM (#4148862) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Bonzo3legs Best bingo calling I ever heard - called "Housey-Housey back in the 1950s was at Dreamland in Margate. There were 2 guys who would sing out the numbers with all the rhymes, no political correctness nonsense back then!!! Dodgems were nearby playing great records of the time - Diana by Paul Anka, All Shook up by Elvis and No Wedding Today by the Deaf Man!!! |
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31 Jul 22 - 11:44 AM (#4148863) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Bonzo3legs Great holidays in 1955-1958, penny slot machines, sticky candy floss, and we stayed at a boarding house that backed on to the railway, so saw plenty of Merchant Navy/Battle of Britain class locos!!! |
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31 Jul 22 - 12:25 PM (#4148865) Subject: RE: BS: Old-Fashioned Bingo Terms From: Senoufou My parents took me to Margate for holidays in the fifties Bonzo! I was a very skinny little mite in a pink knitted swimsuit that hung down to my knees when wet from paddling in the sea. You and I may have seen each other!! By the way, does anybody remember playing Battleships on squared paper? Numbers down one side, letters across the top, and one called out for example "C 9" hoping to 'bomb' someone's battleship represented by a blob on a square on their sheet. I still miss "Two fat ladies" "Two little ducks" etc. But at least Legs eleven exists, with the accompanying whistle. |