OVER THE TRANSOM

Watching David Cay Johnson explain how he had received the 2005 income tax returns from Mr. and Mrs. Trump, he said that he'd received them "over the transom".  A young friend who was visiting asked, "What does that mean?"  I explained that it meant unsolicited, sent in secret, or sent without the receiver's knowledge.

He asked, "But what is a transom?"  I took him to our living room and pointed out a decorative one above our living room door.  I showed him ones in our dining room which were painted over because they are unused.  I explained that, "in the old days", they were used for air ventilation between rooms.  I said, "When I was growing up we had transoms and they were left open in the winter to allow the heat to circulate and in the summer, let the air from the fans to circulate."  He asked, "Couldn't you just use the air conditioner or just turn up the furnace?"  I laughed and said, "We were lucky to have a stove and fans!"

It has been years since I have heard the word "transom" or the phrase "over the transom".

My brother asked, "Shouldn't it be THROUGH the transom?"