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Architectural term?

Posted by R. Berg on February 18, 2002

In Reply to: Nautical Term posted by Nicholas Moore on February 18, 2002

: Monday, February 18, 2002

: Hi -

: Can somebody help me with the nautical term: "beat over the transom". An individual used it in the context of delivering my resume to a third party.
: Applying my liberal arts degree, I would imagine that the individual was assuring me that my resume will not get lost, but rather that it will be delivered to the intended person.

: My guess on the derivation -- that when a ship is "beating" downwind, the spars or booms are noticeably over the transom as compared to a short-hauled trim tack, when the spar/booms are aligned with the length of the ship.

: Any help would be appreciated.

: Nicholas Moore,
: 4L Evening,
: Temple Law

One kind of transom is a small, openable window above a door. In publishing houses, manuscripts that arrive unsolicited are said to come in over (or through? -- not sure) the transom. The third party may have been assuring you of speedy delivery.

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