Post AbXMAGSC3AeozgywlM by cwwilkie@zirk.us
(DIR) More posts by cwwilkie@zirk.us
(DIR) Post #AbXHWSgOlPQZWQOKXI by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-06T16:52:14Z
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I came across another phrase with a fun origin this weekend: "over the transom."A transom is cross-beam, such as the beam at the top of a door. Here's the quotation from an editor at "Atlantic Monthly" that Etymonline has for the origin:"Mr. Weeks once said that some very interesting material comes from writers who, too shy to walk in and talk to the editor, just toss their manuscripts over the transom and run."https://www.etymonline.com/word/transom#etymonline_v_16895#etymology #WordNerd
(DIR) Post #AbXHl7vkCeoZVFYv9k by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-06T16:54:54Z
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I was surprised, too, to find that the OED doesn't have this meaning.
(DIR) Post #AbXHtbR6NwqNKXGsQC by petes_bread_eqn_xls@mastodo.neoliber.al
2023-11-06T16:56:25Z
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@grammargirl huh, do you think it was removed for being out of date?
(DIR) Post #AbXI7mNGVx3rJBEiye by jensilber@mastodon.social
2023-11-06T16:58:55Z
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@grammargirl When I first saw this phrase I understood it in context without knowing that word specifically, and I thought "transom" was some kind of outdated technology like a telegraph.
(DIR) Post #AbXIuDv7OzTEdnAfAG by mediageek@mastodon.social
2023-11-06T17:07:37Z
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@grammargirl Pretty sure this is the metaphor behind the naming of the public radio workshop Transom https://transom.org/about/about-transom/
(DIR) Post #AbXKTndEidyFUJKoF6 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-06T17:25:22Z
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@petes_bread_eqn_xls The OED doesn't remove things because it's a historical dictionary. It has lot of obsolete and archaic words. My first thought was that they haven't gotten around to adding it yet.
(DIR) Post #AbXKiLJaHcCg0Z4qq8 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-06T17:27:58Z
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@mediageek How fun!
(DIR) Post #AbXMAGSC3AeozgywlM by cwwilkie@zirk.us
2023-11-06T17:44:16Z
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@grammargirl Perhaps they call it a cross-member, crosspiece or, interestingly, a traverse.
(DIR) Post #AbXOBsy2XhcodjmLeC by mlanger@mastodon.world
2023-11-06T18:06:52Z
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@grammargirl In offices and the like, there used to be transom windows over the doors that opened for ventilation.
(DIR) Post #AbXP1ByjcRH8N3ZJrc by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-06T18:16:12Z
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@mlanger So charming. I think it's related to the idea that the windows are over the transom beam. We have transom windows up high in our bedroom, which I've always thought was a stupid idea because it's hard to install curtains or blinds, and then you always have light in the bedroom. About one night every month, I wake up with the full moon blazing into my face like an interrogation light.
(DIR) Post #AbXRNQf3uRzYBh68W0 by mlanger@mastodon.world
2023-11-06T18:42:36Z
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@grammargirl In the 1980s, I worked in the Municipal Building in NYC. Built in 1913, all the interior doors had transom windows. There was no central air.Now it's a design choice. Back then, it was necessity. BTW, in that building the bathroom stalls were made of marble and all the doorknobs were brass, embossed with the NYC seal and "Municipal Building." There were mail slots that let you drop in a letter on the 22nd floor to a mailbox at ground level. It was a treat to work there.
(DIR) Post #AbXVnEXZzoqfwS9riC by mikej@mastodon.online
2023-11-06T19:32:06Z
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@grammargirl My guess is it's an American thing and OED always lags on USisms.
(DIR) Post #AbXW8ak6e1ZAsiCZ3Q by mikej@mastodon.online
2023-11-06T19:35:56Z
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@grammargirl OED online has "over the transom" and good definitions of the transom something would come in over. (2A & 2B at transom)
(DIR) Post #AbXmVbGETzAYPpDo0G by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-06T22:39:26Z
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@mikej I'm looking at the 2A and 2B definitions and quotations, and I still don't see it. Are you at oed.com?
(DIR) Post #AbXnTiKLL5yXhqoDLc by mikej@mastodon.online
2023-11-06T22:50:14Z
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@grammargirl Yes. Here's 2a & b, and over the transom.
(DIR) Post #AbXpYWAu9FZDNBoRN2 by grammargirl@zirk.us
2023-11-06T23:13:34Z
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@mikej UGH! Thank you. I'm still not used to the new interface, I guess. I didn't click on "compounds and derived words."
(DIR) Post #AbXqad9FID7DX8bk9Y by mikej@mastodon.online
2023-11-06T23:25:10Z
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@grammargirl Yes, it's terrible. I wish people could stop "improving" things.
(DIR) Post #AbY6s3cvhHB3qTp9G4 by brianinbc@thecanadian.social
2023-11-07T02:27:31Z
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@grammargirl transom is commonly used to refer to the back end of a boat as well.