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.
- Over the transom ESC 02/19/02