A word from historical newspaper personal ads, explained with real examples from the archive.
Free of ties: in personal ads, without dependents or other obligations.
| Type | Historical language |
|---|---|
| Category | Description |
| Earliest example in the archive | February 25, 1921, Arizona Republican (Phoenix) |
| Most common | 1860s to the 1920s |
Unencumbered means free of encumbrance, a word also used of property with no debts on it. In personal ads it described, or asked for, someone with nothing to hold them back, such as children to support. In February 1921, a healthy widower in Phoenix with a comfortable home asked in the Arizona Republican for an “unincumbered, healthy christian lady” of 30 to 35, using a variant spelling.
Sources: Merriam-Webster, unencumbered.
HEALTHY widower with comfortable home, wishes to correspond with unincumbered, healthy christian lady, 30 to 35 years, object matrimony. Box 33T, Republican. dn
Modern ads say it more directly, for example NK, no kids.
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How this fits into 170 years of personal ad shorthand: From Object Matrimony to LTR: How Personal Ads Learned to Talk in Code.
All dictionary entries · The Personals Archive · How to write a personal ad
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