What are some overused cliches, phrases, or other things in personal ads from online dating sites?

Traveling. Everyone effen travels. I get it but really??

I was on match.com for a while, saw these over and over:

“Looking for a man that’s comfortable in jeans or a tuxedo.”

“I can go from a pair of jeans to a little black dress.”

“I appreciate fine wines”.

“I like to hike and sea kayak”

I like long walks on the beaches and strawberries and peaches.

Just kidding, I’ve never seen that, but the whole walks on the beach thing is way old.

These are such loser ads. From what I heard on the radio, you want to sell yourself, and that means leading with what you can offer to a potential date. Saying what you want first is a sign of selfishness.

“I’m a little heavy but that’s just more to love”

@SamIAm You know they mean traveling like going to see the sites overseas, right? Not traveling like commuting to work.

I love hiking, biking, snowboarding, snowshoeing – anything outdoors! Which means if I don’t deem you healthy enough, I’ll make condescending and passive aggressive comments in your direction.

This is the opposite of what you’re asking, but the best ads I’ve seen had an easygoing, conversational tone. Instead of coming across as a list of interests and personality traits, they told a little story about themselves or wrote about why they thought certain things, instead of just what they thought.

For example, a badly written ad might say, “I love wine, travel, and hiking.” (Three typical interests, just as an example.)

A better ad might say, “I’m working on hiking the Appalacian trail bit by bit. It sounds cool on paper to take on a project like this, but once I got out there on the trail it hits you- it takes a long time to walk five miles. It takes a really long time to walk 1,200 miles. I think I’m 5% of the way there now, so I should be done just in time for my 80th birthday. After all that hard work, I like to wind down the day with a little creature comfort, like a crisp glass of Sauvignon Blanc with a chevre chaud salad.” (I don’t know, I just made that up right now.)

So in other words, most people tell when they should show. The second one shows that I’m a procrastinator, or at least take things at an easygoing pace, and a little bit of my tastes in food and wine. Ok, just that I’m a procrastinator.

To finally answer your question, @hawaii_jake, My least favorite cliches are the ones that boil down people’s personalities to one or two words. Everyone is “chill and laid-back,” or “I’m a real type-A personality!”

Mature woman seeking… (she’s a little bit long in the tooth)

Interested in dating and more (he wants to hook up with you and lots of other people)

Just seeking a friend (he wants sex, but not a relationship)

Curvaceous (overweight)

Slender (overweight)

Voluptuous (overweight)

Appreciates a voluptuous woman (likes big boobs on a stick thin woman)

Race not important (but weight is and you better not be of X,Y or Z race and probably has an Asian fetish)

Single Parent (if it’s a woman, she wants to get married right away, if it’s a man, he doesn’t want his date to have any kids, and he wants to get laid right away)

Loves the outdoors (prefers to sit on the couch and eat flaming hot cheetos and watch football)

Enjoys long walks on the beach ( _she_just wants a decent guy to actually talk to her and pay attention to her conversation and not just sit there on her couch eating flaming hot cheetos and watching football)

Male, young looking 50 something (has hair plugs or a bad comb over)

Female, young 50 something (looks 60 something, but wears really provacative clothing not appropriate for someone that age)

Open minded (hopes that you won’t mind if he sleeps around)

Down to earth woman (hasn’t had any sex in years)

Down to earth man (expects you to pick up after him and not complain, do all the cooking and it better be meat and potatoes, and keep your mouth shut and don’t tell him about your feelings)

Female, marriage minded (desperately wants to get married right now)

Male, marriage minded (but mostly sex minded, especially with multiple partners)

@Kardamom “Prefers to sit on the couch and eat flaming hot cheetos”

LOL! Who doesn’t?

@Haleth The funny thing about that one is that my best friend (female) absolutely loves both of those things (sitting on the couch and flaming hot cheetos), but she would actually word it exactly like that and not say that she was outdoorsy. She’d be thrilled to find that guy. But alas, she never will because in his profile this same guy is saying that he enjoys the great outdoors. So they’ll never meet. Sad isn’t it?

@MyNewtBoobs: ya, got it. But they all make themselves seem so interesting because they have traveled and they make it seem like that’s all they do. It’s overdone.

@Haleth I actually can tell a lot from which few words they use – but I’m usually not trying to know them extremely well, just get a general enough picture that I know if I should send them a message or move along.

@MyNewtBoobs Different strokes for different folks, said the farmer as he kissed the cow. I like stuff that’s a little wordier, but your approach makes the most sense when it comes to online dating. Like you said, you don’t have to get to know them that well when it’s just their profile.

Always wondered when someone claims to be a “Professional.” Techincally, anyone who takes int paycheck is a “Professional” something or another. I always wonder about those who try to play it on both sides. No, not bi-sexual, but other lifestyle stuff. Like “SWF who loves the night life, dancing, concerts, theater, dining out who also like quiet evening at home snuggled by a fire.” Would love an honest one one day, like “SWM who can’t get a date for the life of him out in the real world creating a fantasy life for you to fall for to possbly score one date from some desperate lady with daddy issues and a night of drinking and sex before you realize what a jerk I really am and I realize the reason you carry a five piece set of emotional baggage around with you 24/7.”

@12Oaks Lol. For a really long time, I was searching for a roommate, and everyone said “Young professional seeks same”. I was like “Are you stating that you want me to be able to pay you rent? Is that not implied by the $450 a month subject heading on your ad? Or is there some secret lingo I don’t know – like stating you’re “into leather” doesn’t really mean you enjoy a nice pair of Italian crafted boots, but that you enjoy the S&M lifestyle?” Eventually I decided that either they felt that, yes, it really was necessary to state that I must pay rent and I should judge them for feeling the need to state this, or it’s like when people ask what your first “real job” was, and they were clearly a pretentious douche that I should stay away from.

Now before you wonder why I am reading these, it is because they are right before the pets for sale and I am looking for a cockatiel to purchase.

Anyhow, I am always amused at the personal ads or adult ads (prostitution legal here) that claim they are all young, beautiful, intelligentl and usually Asian. I keep wondering if you are that young and beautiful and smart, why are you making a living by selling yourself to men who apparently can’t find a partner in a more socially acceptable way.

The following ad actually ran in the Atlanta Journal:

SINGLE BLACK FEMALE seeks male companionship, race unimportant. I’m a very good looking girl who LOVES to play, take long walks in the woods, hunting, camping, fishing trips and cozy winter nights by the fire. Really like a man with a pickup truck. A candlelight dinner will have me eating out of your hand. I’ll be at the front door when you get home from work, wearing only what nature gave me. Rub me the right way and watch me respond. Kiss me and I’m yours. Call (***) 875–6420 and ask for Daisy.

Over 15,000 men found themselves talking to the Atlanta Humane Society about an 8-week-old black Labrador retriever.

@rooeytoo Usually the money. You don’t have to do schooling or similar training, and you can easily make thousands a night in cash.

@Haleth you’re way too young for me, but your mother isn’t looking around, is she?

I’ve been thinking about this myself, @hawaii_jake.

“long walks on the beach at sunset” means you don’t want to be seen during the day, I think
“cuddling and snuggling in front of a fire” means I can’t afford to heat the house
“glass of wine” means you have a glass, I’m drinking straight from the bottle
“holding hands” means you’re not getting me naked, now or ever
“jeans to little black dress” means that everything else is work clothes
“looking for an honest man” means she’s a dreamer, but she’s still setting her sights as low as possible
“looking for an honest woman” means he can’t afford the hookers in his area, and he’s willing to settle for whoever will give him whatever
“friends and more” means “more”

In craigslist, everyone wants black dongs in their mouths.

@WasCy aww, thanks :)

hehehe. I have a friend that that’s looking on there- he keeps getting messages from really beautiful, young women in other countries. ( He’s sort of a ordinary to good looking old fart). Oh, and the laundry lists of deal breakers I’ve seen them post- haha funny

@AmWiser That ad was so cute. That gets a big awwwwwww.

@Kardamom thanks;-)

Funny thread!

I hate the nice guy looking for real woman. -desperate

Looking for love or ltr-almost always means unrealistic

No matter what they say they all want sex right away. Either cuz they are desperate and its been too long. Or they just honestly needed another hookup.

The laundry list of wants and needs means they almost never know what they want but like to think they do.

Any how its fun to read.