A phrase from historical newspaper personal ads, explained with real examples from the archive.
The section of a newspaper, usually headed Personal or Personals, where private individuals paid to print short messages to the public or to one particular reader.
| Type | Historical phrase |
|---|---|
| Earliest example in the archive | February 20, 1862, New York Herald |
| Most common | 1850s to the 2000s |
Nineteenth-century papers ran their personal columns on the front page or among the classifieds, and they carried every kind of private message: courtship, missed connections, coded notes between lovers, and searches for lost friends. In Britain the equivalent section of The Times was nicknamed the agony column. Many ads in this archive open with the word PERSONAL, followed by a dash, as the paper's own label.
Sources: Word Histories, agony column.
IF MRS. D. E. HAS RETURNED TO NEW YORK, SHE will much oblige her friend (who had the pleasure of paying some attention to her in the cars to Baltimore on Sunday night,…
IMPATIENCE.—YOUR LETTER RECEIVED. HAVE NO one I could trust. Am very anxious to see you, but am perplexed how to arrange a meeting. Can you come to town if I send you…
LATIMER.—I WAITED AT NINETEENTH TILL 8. Scarcely expected you. Can't we name Saturday, at 7—14—2, for half an hour or more? I would name to-morrow, only fearing I will…
PERSONAL.—If Miss SARAH HALL, formerly of Richmond, Va., is in the city, she will please drop a line through the Post Office, to ANDERSON.
RETURNED TO THE OLD PLACE, 65 (NEW NO. 118).—Would Charley please call and oblige? CARRIE WHITE.
ELAINE WILL ADDRESS LANCELOT AS REquested.
PERSONAL—FROM H. TO L.—CALL MONDAY afternoon sure. I leave the city on Tuesday.
PERSONAL—"YOURS FAITHFULLY" IS VERY anxious to hear from you; remained all the week, and will as much longer as possible; believe in him under any and all circumstances;…
PERSONAL—CANNOT SEE YOU TODAY; Saturday's letter received; will see you soon.
PERSONAL—Harry Horgan; write to Pat as soon as possible.
The personal column moved online in the 1990s, to sites like Craigslist, and after Craigslist closed its personals in 2018, to apps. The idea is the same: a short, public piece of writing meant for one kind of reader. What happened to Craigslist Personals? tells that part of the story.
All dictionary entries · The Personals Archive · How to write a personal ad
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