transpontine trans·pon·tine[trans-pon-tin, -tahyn] adjective
1. across or beyond a bridge.
2. on the southern side of the Thames in London.
I had never seen this word in print nor heard it used, but after seeing it I was reminded of something my sisters and I used to do on trips with our parents; we'd come to a bridge and we'd all hold our breath until we got to the other side.
I remember one particularly long bridge we crossed while on vacation and my oldest sister and I gave up and started breathing again before we passed out but my other sister acted like she was holding her breath all the way. She had her lips pursed tight and face scrunched up like it was painful but it was obvious she was breathing through her nose because her chest was moving. After we got to the other side, she "let out" the air with an explosive gasp and denied that she had cheated.
Years later she got onto me for telling my nephews how I would do when I had to jump center in basketball against a much taller boy; right before the referee threw the ball up in the air, I'd step on the guy's foot. Sometimes I got away with it, other times I got a foul called against me. It irked me to have my sister criticize me about cheating when she cheated at a childhood game like holding your breath while crossing the bridge. Oh well.
Like most other kids, we did things like that to pass the time. We'd also hold our feet up when crossing railroad tracks and touch the roof of the car when going under an elevated railway crossing when a train was passing overhead.
I still do that last one!
