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Bingo Calls, Number Nicknames and Rhyming Slang – Above 30




Author: Nick Wright


For fans of playing jackpot bingo online and those who prefer to visit their favourite house of bingo an oft overlooked but always entertaining aspect of the game that they love is the quirky jackpot bingo calls. This article is the third and final installment of our run down of those jackpot bingo calls that have the best and most quirky back stories and origins, and will focus on the calls above the number 30 that you will hear at your house of bingo or when playing your favourite jackpot bingo game.

Through the 30’s and 40’s there are no really entertaining calls, but our countdown of quirky jackpot bingo calls resumes in earnest with the number 53. When this number comes up you may well hear the call of “here comes Herbie” as a reference to the popular Herbie movie franchise, featuring a Volkswagen Beetle with a racing paintjob that included the number 53. From a Hollywood reference, our run down of jackpot bingo calls moves to one which nods at a famous advertising campaign when we get to the call of “Heinz Beanz” for the number 57. This call is based on the well-known slogan adopted by the Heinz Corporation that claims that they produce 57 varieties of condiments and food stuffs.

One of the simpler of the jackpot bingo calls that often rings out at your local house of bingo, is that of “stop work” for the number 65 in a reference to the mandatory retirement age in the UK. A final interesting and in this case interactive call with a long history is the call of “was she worth it” for the number 76. This intriguing call originates from the fact that it used to cost seven shillings and six pence for a marriage licence in Britain in the times of pre-decimal currency, and as such is a tongue in cheek enquiry from your house of bingo caller to which the expected response is a resounding “every penny!”.

So that completes what I hope was an interesting and enlightening run down of the most quirky and entertaining bingo calls, nicknames and back stories, and whilst you may not remember them all perhaps you may give them a little thought next time you play your favourite brand of jackpot bingo game.