bingo
pronunciation
How to pronounce bingo in British English:
UK [ˈbɪŋɡəʊ]
How to pronounce bingo in American English:
US [ˈbɪŋɡoʊ]
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- Noun:
- a game in which numbered balls are drawn at random and players cover the corresponding numbers on their cards
Word Origin
- bingo (n.)
- lotto-like game of chance, 1936; many theories about its origin, none satisfying; the most likely is bingo! as an exclamation of sudden realization or surprise (attested from 1923). Uncertain connection to the slang word for "brandy" (1690s); attested as "liquor" in American English, 1861. Thomas Chandler Haliburton ("Sam Slick") in "The Americans at Home" (1854) recounts a story of a drinking game in which the children's song about the farmer's dog was sung and when it came time to spell out the name, every participant had to take a letter in turn, and anyone who missed or flubbed had to drink.
Example
- 1. So rather than bet as a punter , I have owned bookmakers , bingo halls , greyhound tracks and suchlike .
- 2. The federal and state affairs committee deals with a host of issues including abortion , bingo licenses , immigration , land surveying , strip clubs and alcohol .
- 3. Do you know who bingo is ?
- 4. To end up in the same nursing home , but calling staff by the right names , and not looking forward to the weekly bingo . Big gain .
- 5. Putting the " go " into bingo may be working : he thinks a third of all club members are under 35 , but two-thirds of the new ones are .