A phrase from historical newspaper personal ads, explained with real examples from the archive.
Send a real letter, not just a name and address.
| Type | Historical language |
|---|---|
| Category | Formula |
| Earliest example in the archive | June 14, 1942, Evening Star |
| Most common | 1930s to the 1940s |
Asking readers to write fully meant the writer wanted to judge replies by what people said about themselves. It turns up in the Washington Evening Star in the 1940s, when box-number notices were short and letters did the rest of the work. A 1944 ad uses the shorthand form, write full part., meaning write full particulars.
A CLUB IS BEING FORMED FOR NON-smoking, cultured, middle-aged people. Write fully. Box 394-H. Star.
YOUNG WOMAN ATTORNEY will share modern cottage, Lake Jackson, Va., with congenial couple, girls or service wife; furn. transp. D. C. daily; must love country; ref.;…
The modern version is the request to tell me about yourself, or the complaint about one-word openers.
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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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