Oddly enough, none of the entries mentioned, you know, dibs. Other than Grandma and Grandpa and their calling “kings,” I’ve always heard “dibs,” in all of the places I’ve lived (which admittedly is only places in Illinois and Missouri (save for a few months I spent in Japan and a few weeks in Mississippi, and in those places, “dibs” or the local equivalent never came up)).
I had to think hard for an equivalent in German, but then I remembered an old phrase from my childhood/youth (in the 80s): “Erster ohne Streit!”. It literally means “First one without argument/fight!”, and you would call it out e. g. when several people were heading for a single toilet bathroom. But I haven’t heard that phrase in a long time and don’t know what young German people say today to call dibs.
Oh, there it is! When I moved to Massachusetts, someone at work said “I hosey [some item]” at lunch, and when people explained what it meant, for a little while I thought they were just messing with the gullible Texan. I haven’t heard it since that particular crowd, so I’d kinda started to think I misremembered it.
I always thought this was “begs I,” i.e. “I beg,” but it turns out it’s “bags I,” i.e. “I bag,” as in put something in one’s bag. Huh.
I grew up in suburban Long Island, and we would simply “call” the first ride on the swing. I don’t remember hearing “dibs” during childhood; in fact I probably first encountered it in reading.
My mother, who also grew up on Long Island, had a phrase that sounded bizarre to me, and I’ve never heard elsewhere: “iggy,” as in “I iggy the last dish of pudding.” Has anyone else ever heard this one? I have to wonder if it’s cognate to the “Aikie” in the Mental Floss list that Maserschmidt linked to.
I don’t know if it’s related but of course people do put a bag on a seat to claim it.
Not always successfully. My mother once tried this somewhere in northern England, when a woman whom I imagine to be like Ena Sharples took the bag off and plonked herself down. When my mother objected, she was firmly told “It’s bums saves seats, not bags”, a phrase that’s stuck in the family ever since.
God I haven’t heard that one since I was kid! Thanks for the nostalgia hit haha.
People in the UK seem to say ‘shotgun’ a lot these days. I assume it’s been picked up from the US. I’m also familiar with ‘calling dibs’.
Because the concept of dibs is inherently unfair, and if you accept unfairness with the little stuff, you’ll end up accepting it with the big stuff as well. Kids have to learn to stand up for themselves and not put up with arbitrary justice.
Also, we can’t help ourselves. Arguing is just fun.
Of course the gamesmanship of dibs is calling it early enough, but not too early. I mean, one could call dibs today on the left leg of next Thanksgiving’s turkey, but nobody else in your household would regard that as legit or binding.
So as you and sibs are heading home, there’s sort of a game of “chicken” (another USA-ism?) where the longer you wait to call dibs on the food or bathroom or …, the more legit your claim, but also the more likely one of your competitors will beat you to it.
In a way it’s a game that teaches paying attention and planning ahead, not just mindless daydreaming (in the old days), or phone scrolling (nowadays). So a useful thing for parents of youngsters to encourage.
In Denmark you can declare “helle for …” in an informal situation. This can be challenged, but the social contract sort of says that you have to bring some argumentation for why your counter-helle should overrule the first helle. E.g “I really like …” or “you got the … last time” or some physical ailment makes it potentially dangerous that you don’t get it, e.g bottom bed of a bunk bed.
The word helle also means pedestrian refuge, I don’t know if there’s any connection.
Sure - but some folk will likely forego seeking advantage if doing so causes them to be an asshole - however they define that. Everyone else might be cutting in line, or calling dibs on parking spaces. But if I think such behavior undesirable, I will decide how much disadvantage I am willing to accept before simply going along. There are so many things we have little say about these days, but living what one considers to be a “good” life remains within our control.
On the other side, there is a real incentive to NOT occupy a space someone else claimed dibs to, as they have significant opportunity to damage your car.
That’s helle cool.
Sorry. Couldn’t resist. 
And after posting yesterday that I hadn’t heard it for 50 years, I heard it used this evening at a party where someone “bagsed” a seat. Amazing coincidence.
I think this must have originated with people calling dibs/baggsie on the passenger (shotgun) seat in the car, then maybe conflating which word actually means you’re calling it for yourself.