What is "blue ribbon"

Blue \Blue\ (bl[=u]), a. [Compar. Bluer (bl[=u]"[~e]r); superl. Bluest.] [OE. bla, blo, blew, blue, livid, black, fr. Icel.bl[=a]r livid; akin to Dan. blaa blue, Sw. bl[*a], D. blauw, OHG. bl[=a]o, G. blau; but influenced in form by F. bleu, from OHG. bl[=a]o.]

1. Having the color of the clear sky, or a hue resembling it, whether lighter or darker; as, the deep, blue sea; as blue as a sapphire; blue violets. ``The blue firmament.''
   --Milton.

2. Pale, without redness or glare, -- said of a flame; hence, of the color of burning brimstone, betokening the presence of ghosts or devils; as, the candle burns blue; the air was blue with oaths.

3. Low in spirits; melancholy; as, to feel blue.

4. Suited to produce low spirits; gloomy in prospect; as, thongs looked blue. [Colloq.]

5. Severe or over strict in morals; gloom; as, blue and sour religionists; suiting one who is over strict in morals; inculcating an impracticable, severe, or gloomy mortality; as, blue laws.

6. Literary; -- applied to women; -- an abbreviation of bluestocking. [Colloq.] The ladies were very blue and well informed. --Thackeray. Blue asbestus. See Crocidolite. Blue black, of, or having, a very dark blue color, almost black. Blue blood. See under Blood. Blue buck (Zo["o]l.), a small South African antelope ( Cephalophus pygm[ae]us); also applied to a larger species ( [AE]goceras leucoph[ae]us); the blaubok. Blue cod (Zo["o]l.), the buffalo cod. Blue crab (Zo["o]l.), the common edible crab of the Atlantic coast of the United States ( Callinectes hastatus). Blue curls (Bot.), a common plant ( Trichostema dichotomum), resembling pennyroyal, and hence called also bastard pennyroyal. Blue devils, apparitions supposed to be seen by persons suffering with delirium tremens; hence, very low spirits. ``Can Gumbo shut the hall door upon blue devils, or lay them all in a red sea of claret?'' --Thackeray. Blue gage. See under Gage, a plum. Blue gum, an Australian myrtaceous tree ( Eucalyptus globulus), of the loftiest proportions, now cultivated in tropical and warm temperate regions for its timber, and as a protection against malaria. The essential oil is beginning to be used in medicine. The timber is very useful. See Eucalyptus. Blue jack, Blue stone, blue vitriol; sulphate of copper. Blue jacket, a man-of war's man; a sailor wearing a naval uniform. Blue jaundice. See under Jaundice. Blue laws, a name first used in the eighteenth century to describe certain supposititious laws of extreme rigor reported to have been enacted in New Haven; hence, any puritanical laws. [U. S.] Blue light, a composition which burns with a brilliant blue flame; -- used in pyrotechnics and as a night signal at sea, and in military operations. Blue mantle (Her.), one of the four pursuivants of the English college of arms; -- so called from the color of his official robes. Blue mass, a preparation of mercury from which is formed the blue pill. --McElrath. Blue mold or Blue mould, the blue fungus ( Aspergillus glaucus) which grows on cheese. --Brande & C. Blue Monday,

   1. a Monday following a Sunday of dissipation, or itself given to dissipation (as the Monday before Lent).

   2. a Monday considered as depressing because it is a workday in contrast to the relaxation of the weekend. Blue ointment (Med.), mercurial ointment. Blue Peter (British Marine), a blue flag with a white square in the center, used as a signal for sailing, to recall boats, etc. It is a corruption of blue repeater, one of the British signal flags. Blue pill. (Med.)

      1. A pill of prepared mercury, used as an aperient, etc.

      2. Blue mass. Blue ribbon.

         1. The ribbon worn by members of the order of the Garter; -- hence, a member of that order.

         2. Anything the attainment of which is an object of great ambition; a distinction; a prize. ``These [scholarships] were the
            --blue ribbon of the college.''
            --Farrar.

   3. The distinctive badge of certain temperance or total abstinence organizations, as of the
      --Blue ribbon Army.

      Blue ruin, utter ruin; also, gin. [Eng. Slang]
      --Carlyle.

      Blue spar (Min.), azure spar; lazulite. See Lazulite.

      Blue thrush (Zo["o]l.), a European and Asiatic thrush ( Petrocossyphus cyaneas).

      Blue verditer. See Verditer.

      Blue vitriol (Chem.), sulphate of copper, a violet blue crystallized salt, used in electric batteries, calico printing, etc.

      Blue water, the open ocean.

      Big Blue, the International Business Machines corporation. [Wall Street slang.] PJC

      To look blue, to look disheartened or dejected.

      True blue, genuine and thorough; not modified, nor mixed; not spurious; specifically, of uncompromising Presbyterianism, blue being the color adopted by the Covenanters.

      For his religion . . . 'T was Presbyterian, true blue.
      --Hudibras.

a. very superior in quality, style, or substance. n. 1 The highest honor or prize awarded in some competitions and contests. 2 A badge worn or displayed to advocate freedom from online censorship.

n. an honor or award gained for excellence [syn: cordon bleu]

The blue ribbon is a symbol of high quality. The association comes from The Blue Riband, a prize awarded for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean by passenger liners and, prior to that from Cordon Bleu, which referred to the blue ribbon worn by a particular order of knights. The spelling blue riband is still encountered in most English-speaking countries, but in the United States, the term was altered to blue ribbon, and ribbons of this color came to be awarded for first place in certain athletic or other competitive endeavours (such as county and state fairs). It also may be applied to distinguished members of a group or commission who have convened to address a situation or problem; the usual usage is "blue ribbon commission" or " blue-ribbon panel".

Blue Ribbon was the budget computer software publishing label of CDS Micro Systems.

The label launched in 1985 mostly made up of games from the MRM Software back catalogue. MRM had been a label producing games for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron. Blue Ribbon reissued these and also converted them to other platforms including Atari 8-bit, Amstrad CPC, MSX and Commodore 16/ Plus/4. By the late 80s, Blue Ribbon were also releasing games for the ZX Spectrum and Commodore 64 including reissues of games for publishers including Superior Software, Bubble Bus and Artic as well as games originally published at full price by CDS. This included the first stand alone releases for games previously only available on compilations (e.g. Syncron and Camelot from Superior and Video Card Arcade and Dominoes from CDS). The Superior games were released as joint Superior/Blue Ribbon releases and carried advertisements for current Superior full price games. Although a small number of compilations were released on disk, all individual releases were on cassette between £1.99 and £2.99. The label's final releases were in 1991 and CDS never used the Blue Ribbon label for 16-bit releases.

Blue ribbon or Blue Ribbon may refer to:

• Blue ribbon, the blue ribbon as a symbol
• Blue Ribbon (software house) a budget home computer software publisher of the 1980s
• Japan's Blue Ribbon Awards
• Blue Ribbon Barbecue, a chain of 2 restaurants and a catering service in the Boston suburbs
• Blue Ribbon Intermediate Holdings, owner of Pabst Brewing Company
• Blue Ribbon fishery, fisheries officially or informally designated as being of extremely high quality
• Blue Ribbon Merrie Melodies, a reissue of Warner Bros Merrie Melodies and Looney Tunes series; see List of Warner Bros. cartoons with Blue Ribbon reissues
• Blue Ribbon Online Free Speech Campaign
• Blue Ribbon Pairs, also known as the Edgar Kaplan Blue Ribbon Pairs, a duplicate bridge event held by the American Contract Bridge League
• Blue-ribbon panel, a group of exceptional people appointed to study a given question
• Blue Ribbon Schools Program, a US government program to honor schools
• Blue Ribbon Sports, the original name of sports-shoe manufacturer, Nike, Inc..