transpontine
Definitions
from The Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia
- adjective Situated or existing across or beyond a bridge; specifically, belonging to the part of London lying on the Surrey side of the Thames: applied to the Surrey and Victoria theaters, at which cheap melodrama was formerly popular, and hence, in London theatrical parlance, to any play of a cheap, melodramatic character.
Examples
-
When he arrived at Pillingshot's seat and found it empty, an expression passed over his face like unto that of the baffled villain in transpontine melodrama.
-
In structure the genius of the elder Booth was indeed closely akin to that of Kean, if not the rarer of the two, notwithstanding the triumphant assertion of Doran, who says that Booth was driven by Kean's superiority to become a hero to 'transpontine audiences.'
-
The skirts of the shirt were worn outside his trousers, so that his tout ensemble was exactly that of a dashing pirate or smuggler bold, as that interesting individual is presented on the boards of a third-rate transpontine theatre of the present day.
The Rover's Secret A Tale of the Pirate Cays and Lagoons of Cuba, by Harry Collingwood
Note
This word comes from the Latin 'trans,' across, over, beyond, plus 'pons,' bridge.
