Growing up around betting rings is a life I’ve loved. It’s a way of living that is out of the ordinary. There’s a mystique to its inner workings, one that even technology hasn’t been able to fully sanitise.
Part of that mystique and a sight that’s so sorely missed is the Tic Tac men that used to relay the odds from bookmaker to bookmaker.
These guys, who often donned white gloves and wore suits that made them look like gangsters from the days of “Guys and Dolls”, were highly skilled human arithmetic machines. They were essential to the flow of money and the ecosystem of the betting rings they served.
Technology has largely replaced the tic-tac men, but listen carefully in a betting ring and you’ll still hear plenty of the language they helped keep alive.
Some of it comes from Cockney rhyming slang, some from back slang, and some from stories that have been passed around for so long that nobody is entirely sure where the truth ends and the folklore begins.
Although the ‘nic nacs’ may now be extinct, some of the terminology around at the time can still be heard.
I’ll do my best to let you into what that it is and my knowledge of its origins here…
Monkeys, ponies and other sums of money
- A Monkey = 500. Said to derive from the 500 Indian Rupee banknote which featured an image of a Monkey
- A Pony = 25 also born from the Rupee banknote. The denomination featured a picture of a Pony. You might also hear £25 called a maca, short for macaroni, another piece of rhyming slang.
- A Score = 20 “Score” was a term for counting herds of sheep or cattle. Counting by scores allowed the livestock hands to keep up with large quantities of cattle without losing count. ‘Apple Core’ is a derivative of rhyming slang and is often shortened to just ‘Apple’
- A Cockle = Short for Cockle and Hen or Big Ben = 10
- A Carpet = 3 or 300 There are various stories about where this comes from, several involving prison slang and a three-month sentence. I’ve heard the story that three months was the time it took an inmate to weave a carpet or mat, but who knows?
- A Jacks = 5. Once again has it’s roots in rhyming slang… Jack’s Alive. Handull is another well used term
- A Bullseye = 50. Presumably from the dartboard score
- A Bottle = either 2 or 200. Another term influenced by rhyming slang.. a bottle of glue. A ‘deuce’ is also used
- A Ton or Oner = 100… No idea of where ton came from personally, feel free to comment if you do.
- A Grand = 1000 or Bag of Sand in Rhyming Slang sometimes just a ‘bag’, apparently originated from America.. with the saying “A Grand Sum Of Money”
Prices and signals
Many of these words can also be used for odds, so a bottle might mean 2/1 and a carpet 3/1.
Tips = 11/10
One from tic-tac, where the fingertips are brought together to signal the price. Also know as bits
Wrist = 5/4
Another named after its tic-tac signal: the hand touches the wrist.
Half arm = 6/4
The signal involves placing a hand across the opposite arm at the elbow.
As with all languages and dialects there can be regional variations – tic tac is no different and 6/4 or ear’ole was often used around the London tracks.
Neves to Rouf = 7/4
An example of back slang: neves is seven backwards and rouf is four backwards.
You might also hear xis for six. Once you get the idea, you can start to sound like a pro even if your punting doesn’t quite match up.
Double tap – 15/8
Again from the tic tac
Top of the head – 9/4
Named after the tic-tac signal, with both hands placed on top of the head. You might also hear it called horns.
Eyes or face – 5/2
Another price named for the position of the hands in the signal.
Burlington Bertie – 100/30
Often shortened to Burlington. One of the more colourful names for a price, even if it takes a little longer to say than 100/30. In tick tac it’s 3 (hand under the chin) and a bit (11/10)
Carp half – 7/2
A carpet and a half: three and a half. I won’t tell you what else bookmakers use the term to describe but it involves certain assets and the fairer sex!
Double carpet – 33/1
Two threes side by side. One that’s often a welcome result for us bookies
Clickety-click – 66/1
One of those names that’s easier to remember than finding a winner at the price.
You may also hear TH for eight, legs for eleven, and a dozen, or doz, for twelve.
The list goes on but I hope I’ve given you a little peak behind the curtain and next time you’re on course and eyeing up the Chalk on the boards (odds) you may have some more insight into its traditions and culture.
