Kiss it goodbye: why going on the pull is a dying art

The rise in dating apps and the decline in Britain's nightlife may have sounded the death knell for this time-honoured tradition of finding a mate. Helen Coffey mourns its loss

- Helen Coffey

At last year's work Christmas party, my colleague and I told everyone we were “on the scrag”. Both single and in our early forties and late thirties respectively, we were joking (sort of). But our announcement was initially met with blank-eyed stares from bemused Gen Z colleagues, all of whom were unfamiliar with this particularly uncouth bit of Noughties slang. “You know, on the pull,” we explained. Now their eyes popped out of their heads. “Oh my goodness! Wow, really?” squeaked one twentysomething workmate. They seemed giddy at the notion – the audaciousness of it. Which, given they belonged to the very demographic that ostensibly should be indulging in such primal, mate-finding behaviour, was somewhat surprising.

As it turned out, they were shocked because the age-old art of prowling bars and clubs looking for a snog is no longer the commonplace practice it once was. Dressing up, drinking and dancing with the express purpose of locking eyes with a passably attractive stranger, giving them the nod and mouthing “get your coat, you’ve pulled” across a darkened room (not that I was ever quite that brazen) is now something of a relic from the past.

Part of this can be attributed to the pronounced decline in British nightlife. According to a 2025 report from the Night Time Industries Association (NTIA), one in four late-night venues has closed since 2020, totalling nearly 800. Rather than improving post-pandemic, the situation has worsened – the sector dipped by 1.7 per cent between March and June just this year, equating to three net closures a week.