"Wedlock need not end in deadlock."  From the Bombay Sunday Chronicle, 1953.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

"Marriage is too sacred for levity."  From the Duluth Herald, 1919.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

"Peter Puck wants to know why a bride does not marry the best man."  From The Children's Newspaper, 1920.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

From Ohio University's 1892 yearbook.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

"Wotan rites in marriage.  The ceremonial of sun, water, fire and forest was followed.  There was also a complicated ritual involving clay dummies and the mingling of the blood of the contracting parties by punctures in the arm."  From the Bombay Sunday Chronicle, 1939.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

How mistletoe transforms into the spider of matrimony.  From Caricature, the Wit & Humor of a Nation In Picture, Song and Story, 1914.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

From the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's 1917 yearbook.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

From the Bombay Sunday Chronicle, 1938.  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

Fear of marriage or commitment is gamophobia.  From High Point's Atelier yearbook (1916).  See The Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.

"'Marriage,' he said, 'is like that cage.'"  From "His Philosophy" by X., in Cassell's, 1894.

"A wet day for a wedding."  From Fighting an Omen by E. Henderson Smith, 1883.  Speaking of weddings, see our Collected Lost Meanings of Wedlock.  Why lost meanings? The definition of "marriage" has become hotly debated of late, to the point that the word has become "increasingly unmentionable" (Catholic Herald) or even "has no meaning at all" (Family Policy Institute). It's been said that only through loss can there be gain, that only through loss can we truly grow and understand what is at stake, that only through loss can that which is beautiful be found. As the poet Joseph August has noted, "Only through loss can we glimpse the deepest meanings, / hints and flashes whispered from below / elucted as from underwater, deep." The collected lost meanings of wedlock might surprise even those who would otherwise be considered well-informed.  It's the perfect gift for one's betrothed, or for a wedding planner, or for anyone contemplating matrimony.

It's been said that "A marriage is made of moments" (Jodi Blazek Gehr).  The caption here reads, "We've been married exactly an hour and ten minutes."  From Cassell's, 1895.