Do You Know Your Clickety-Click From Your Tickety-Boo?!

One of the really fun things about bingo is that it is steeped in tradition. Played for hundreds of years and with a language all of its own, bingo is one of those lovely pastimes which you either understand completely or leaves you feeling utterly confused to start with! If you’ve never played then head over to chitchatbingo.co.uk right now and get involved – you won’t regret it and it will soon become clear!

My favourite hobby is finding out the origins of the popular nicknames used by callers to identify individual numbers – they really are fascinating. From the obvious such as “two little ducks” meaning 22 because the number 2 resembles a duck, to the more obscure references such as “the lawnmower” meaning 14 because the original lawnmower had a 14 inch blade: I can’t get enough of them! The next time you are in the online chat room at your favourite bingo website, here are a few more nickname facts to impress your fellow players with…

How about number 9 which is called “doctors orders” because soldiers were issued with a laxative pill during World War Two which was known as number 9 – perhaps not one to mention over dinner!

Or if you are looking to impress and you know your scripture you will already know that “The Lord is my shepherd” is the first line of Psalm 23; others might be “enlightened” by this reference to number 23!

A reference from popular culture would be “Here Comes Herbie” in reference to 53 which is the racing number of Herbie the well known VW Beetle car, and often prompts a response of “beep beep” from players in the know!

And last but not least, how about: “Trombones”… do you want a guess? It is of course 76 as in the lyrics from the popular marching tune “76 trombones in the big parade etc etc…”

I hope you’ve learnt something new!