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Usenet Posted 21 years ago
Usage
British word for "transom" (window over a door?)
Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very good mystery stories set in England, uses British words both in dialog and text. Her books are full of references to "jacket potatoes" and "nappies" and so forth. (I've always been curious as to whether British readers find these references natural, or whether they seem mannered or exaggerated).
In her latest novel, she uses the word "transom" in the sense of a small, hinged window over a door.
I have a vague idea that "transom" in this sense is an Americanism, and that in England a different word is used to refer to such a window. Am I correct or have I merely experienced a random synaptic firing? And, of course, if I'm correct, what's the word?
Daniel P. B. Smith, dpbsmith at world dot ess tee dee dot com "Elinor Goulding Smith's Great Big Messy Book" is now back in print! Sample chapter at http://world.std.com/~dpbsmith/messy.html Buy it at /
In her latest novel, she uses the word "transom" in the sense of a small, hinged window over a door.
I have a vague idea that "transom" in this sense is an Americanism, and that in England a different word is used to refer to such a window. Am I correct or have I merely experienced a random synaptic firing? And, of course, if I'm correct, what's the word?
Daniel P. B. Smith, dpbsmith at world dot ess tee dee dot com "Elinor Goulding Smith's Great Big Messy Book" is now back in print! Sample chapter at http://world.std.com/~dpbsmith/messy.html Buy it at /
Top answer
[nq:1]Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very good mystery stories set in England, uses British words both in dialog ... [/nq] I have read all her books, and find them entertaining, and well-plotted. I think I have commented here before on the fact that some of her dialogue seems a little off to me.
- [nq:1]Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very good mystery stories set in England, uses British words both in dialog ...
- [/nq] I have read all her books, and find them entertaining, and well-plotted.
- I think I have commented here before on the fact that some of her dialogue seems a little off to me.
- She uses "shall" wrong too.
- I read Martha Grimes too - nother American writing novels set in England.
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163 Answers
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[nq:1]Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very good mystery stories set in England, uses British words both in dialog ... (I've always been curious as to whether British readers find these references natural, or whether they seem mannered or exaggerated).[/nq]
I have read all her books, and find them entertaining, and well-plotted. I think I have commented here before on the fac
I have read all her books, and find them entertaining, and well-plotted. I think I have commented here before on the fac
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[nq:1]Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very good mystery stories set in England, uses British words both in dialog ... I correct or have I merely experienced a random synaptic firing? And, of course, if I'm correct, what's the word?[/nq]
I balked at the "hinged" in the description of a transom. A window above the door - a fanlight - is a commonly seen architectural feature in
I balked at the "hinged" in the description of a transom. A window above the door - a fanlight - is a commonly seen architectural feature in
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[nq:2]Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very good mystery ... firing? And, of course, if I'm correct, what's the word?[/nq]
[nq:1]I balked at the "hinged" in the description of a transom. A window above the door - a fanlight - ... purely decorative, though, and the window is usually either stained glass or etched glass, You don't see them hinged here.[/nq]
Here's the entir
[nq:1]I balked at the "hinged" in the description of a transom. A window above the door - a fanlight - ... purely decorative, though, and the window is usually either stained glass or etched glass, You don't see them hinged here.[/nq]
Here's the entir
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[nq:2]Elizabeth George, the California writer . . . uses the word "transom" in the sense of a small, hinged window over a door.. . .[/nq]
[nq:1]Thinking about it, though, I realize that the modern homes in my area are all air-condtioned. The function of the hinged window was to allow air in when it was desired. The hinged window allows air circulation. The hinge is not a matter of access.[/nq]
[nq:1]Thinking about it, though, I realize that the modern homes in my area are all air-condtioned. The function of the hinged window was to allow air in when it was desired. The hinged window allows air circulation. The hinge is not a matter of access.[/nq]
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[nq:2]Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very good mystery ... these references natural, or whether they seem mannered or exaggerated).[/nq]
[nq:1]I have read all her books, and find them entertaining, and well-plotted. I think I have commented here before on ... aristocracy and the landed gentry? Is that the only part of England that they think will sell in the US?[/nq]
It
[nq:1]I have read all her books, and find them entertaining, and well-plotted. I think I have commented here before on ... aristocracy and the landed gentry? Is that the only part of England that they think will sell in the US?[/nq]
It
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[nq:2]Thinking about it, though, I realize that the modern homes ... air circulation. The hinge is not a matter of access.[/nq]
[nq:1]Manute Bol aside, I can't imagine anyone using a transom for access.[/nq]
That's why I balked. My first thought was that the hinge was to provide a means of access and I couldn't imagine needing access through a window over the door. Then I thought of the ai
[nq:1]Manute Bol aside, I can't imagine anyone using a transom for access.[/nq]
That's why I balked. My first thought was that the hinge was to provide a means of access and I couldn't imagine needing access through a window over the door. Then I thought of the ai
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[nq:2]Elizabeth George, the California writer who writes very goodmystery stories set in England, uses British words both in dialog andtext.[/nq]
[nq:2]In her latest novel, she uses the word "transom" in ... firing? And, of course, if I'm correct, what's the word?[/nq]
[nq:1]I balked at the "hinged" in the description of a transom. A window above the door - a fanlight - ... purely decorati
[nq:2]In her latest novel, she uses the word "transom" in ... firing? And, of course, if I'm correct, what's the word?[/nq]
[nq:1]I balked at the "hinged" in the description of a transom. A window above the door - a fanlight - ... purely decorati
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[nq:1]. . .[/nq]
[nq:2]Thinking about it, though, I realize that the modern homes ... air circulation. The hinge is not a matter of access.[/nq]
[nq:1]This is the clue. The window over an interior door is a feature of American architecture for reasons that hardly ... doors were in the 19th or 20th century thus constructed in Britain, so no name is needed for the feature.[/nq]
You've ad
[nq:2]Thinking about it, though, I realize that the modern homes ... air circulation. The hinge is not a matter of access.[/nq]
[nq:1]This is the clue. The window over an interior door is a feature of American architecture for reasons that hardly ... doors were in the 19th or 20th century thus constructed in Britain, so no name is needed for the feature.[/nq]
You've ad
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[nq:1]You've added "interior", but British houses of the period referenced often have fanlights and sidelights on the front entrance door. ... have rooms with higher ceilings, but I can't recall being in a modern house with all rooms with high ceilings.[/nq]
The first house we owned in England (an tiny, newly-built, end-terrace house in Hitchin) had windows above the bedroom doors. They weren'
The first house we owned in England (an tiny, newly-built, end-terrace house in Hitchin) had windows above the bedroom doors. They weren'
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[nq:1]mystery text. Americanism, synaptic[/nq]
That's the point: a fanlight is fan shaped and doesn't open; a transom window is built between the transom and the door lintel, is therefore rectangular, and can easily be hinged to the transom if ventilation as well as light is required.
Chris Malcolm (Email Removed) +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205 IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings,
That's the point: a fanlight is fan shaped and doesn't open; a transom window is built between the transom and the door lintel, is therefore rectangular, and can easily be hinged to the transom if ventilation as well as light is required.
Chris Malcolm (Email Removed) +44 (0)131 651 3445 DoD #205 IPAB, Informatics, JCMB, King's Buildings,
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