telepersonals

English

Etymology

tele- +‎ personals, probably from a 1990s trademark.

Noun

telepersonals pl (plural only)

1. Personals (advertisements by which individuals attempt to meet) placed over a distance, as by telephone or Internet.
   • 2000, Chris Kraus, Aliens and anorexia:

     Because I spent a lot of time alone back in LA, calling the Telepersonals had turned into a habit.

   • 2002, Ellen Pollock, The Pretender:

     Mona, whom Marty had met through the telepersonals before rejecting her as a sex mate, told him that she'd get right on it. In fact, she ignored him.

   • 2005, Erika Bukkfalvi Hilliard, Paul Foxman, Living Fully with Shyness and Social Anxiety:

     You've probably heard of or seen personal ads in the newspaper, advertisements for telepersonals on the telephone, video dating services...

   • 2005, Mark Linden O'Meara, The Feeling Soul: A Roadmap to Healing and Living:

     She wasn't romantically interested in me, so a few weeks later at the suggestion of a friend, I picked up the phone and tried the telepersonals.