Green’s Dictionary of Slang

1. (also bango! bingorino! zingo!) used to imply a moment’s surprise, excitement, suddenness etc, e.g. There I was, walking along, then bingo! a cat fell on my head.

1908		Chicago Trib. 19 July in Fleming Unforgettable Season (1981) 129: Bingorino! Away went the ball.
1915		G. Bronson-Howard God’s Man 128: Everything’s harmonious – then – bingo! – in drops a dame and everything’s crabbed.
1919		Walnut Valley Times (El Dorado, KS) 11 Mar. 6/2: Engineers in dry dock plated the two halves together and zingo! They had a new boat. Nice work? Righto. Use your skypiece!
1927		D. Hammett ‘$106,000 Blood Money’ Story Omnibus (1966) 333: Kept eye on her. Bingo! She jumps.
1935		J. Conroy World to Win 88: ‘That’s all I got,’ sez the punk, and, bingo! – the jocker lays ’im out fer the count.
1938		D. Runyon ‘Social Error’ in Runyon on Broadway (1954) 458: The gun goes bingo in Basil’s hand.
1943		Kerouac letter Feb. in Charters I (1995) 40: He happened on Tom Wolfe, and bingo! presto! a new writer.
1949		H. Miller Sexus (1969) 59: And then bango! I went off like a whale.
1951		M. Spillane One Lonely Night 85: They take a bit here and a bit there [...] and bingo, they have something we’re trying to keep under the hat.
1953		Kramer & Karr Teen-Age Gangs 25: The chicken War Hawks pull dirty stuff, boom, boom, zingo – out our guys charge.
1965		W. Dick Bunch of Ratbags 138: The local rag wrote a bit about them and the next thing you know – bingo!
1971		T. Lewis Plender [ebook] Bingo! Suddenly she’s committed.
1975		L. Rosten Dear ‘Herm’ 148: Before you can say ‘Bin-go!’ she and the Old Man are having drinks and dineing out.
1984		A. Sayle Train to Hell 91: I pull some funny faces and do my comical voices and bingo! we have a confession.
1993		T. Jones Pugilist at Rest 90: Waiting for contact. She looks up once or twice and then, bingo! She gives me the look.
2000		Indep. on Sun. Real Life 6 Feb. 1: Bingo! We’ve just blown 400 [pounds] on the Mastercard.
2009		L. McIlvanney All the Colours 310: ‘You’re stood there with your pint and [...] then, bingo, your brains are on the pavement’.

2. used to imply success, esp. of a sighting of something or somebody.

1924		H.L. Wilson Professor How Could You! 238: ‘Bingo!’ cried the woman at this.
1949		(con. 1943–5) A. Murphy To Hell and Back (1950) 207: ‘Okay. Here we go for bingo.’ [...] The carbine cracks.
1951		J.D. Salinger Catcher in the Rye (1958) 168: All you have to do, practically, is sit down on the bed and say, ‘Wake up, Phoeb,’ and bingo, she’s awake.
1958		H.E. Bates Darling Buds of May (1985) 52: ‘Bingo,’ the Brigadier said.
1968		K. Brasselle Cannibals 133: Bingo, Joey! He dates a friend of mine on the Coast.
1974		‘P.B. Yuill’ Hazell Plays Solomon (1976) 112: I’ll get that file, don’t worry. Then — bingo — you’re as good as home.
1978		R.D. Pharr Giveadamn Brown (1997) 34: ‘I’m gonna help you.’ Francis smiled. ‘Bingo,’ he said.
1989		Beano Special No. 13 n.p.: Increase the tension on the watchamacallit ... and bingo!
1997		C. Hiaasen Lucky You 100: ‘And last but not least—’ ‘I’m awfully white,’ Krome said. ‘Bingo.’.
1999		C. Dexter Remorseful Day (2000) 174: So I went over to Gloucester Green – and Bingo! Just behind the Irish pub there.
2000		Guardian Rev. 19 Feb. 3: If we could [...] form some soviets, replace the police with a workers militia and then Bingo! – capitalism would be dead before you could say Fourth International.
2010		(con. 1973) C. Stella Johnny Porno 38: Bingo, he was thinking. Maybe the time was right after all.
2014		T. Black Artefacts of the Dead [ebook] Bingo, we’re in.
2021		J. Ellroy Widespread Panic 83: Bingo! — a background brief on Joan Hubbard Horvath.