Transom

Sunday, October 26th, 2014

A transom is a horizontal beam separating a door from a window above it.

The phrase “over the transom” refers to works submitted without being solicited. Imagine a writer tossing a manuscript through the open window over the door of the publisher’s office.

Comments

  1. George says:

    Strange that the wiki article doesn’t even mention the definition, which to my ears, seems to be the most common: the transom on a boat.

    To quote Alan Jackson’s 2002 #1 hit:

    Ran her for years until the transom got rotten…”

  2. Isegoria says:

    The Wikipedia entry for the nautical use of transom — where it refers to the surface that forms the stern of a vessel — states that the expression “over the transom” is rooted in the architectural meaning of the word.

  3. Roger says:

    Over the transom requires that the window over the transom be opened, which most were before A/C…

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