blue ribbon

Perhaps a calque of Middle French cordon bleu (“blue ribbon”), worn by knights of the Order of the Holy Spirit, or after Blue Riband, a sailing award.

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blue ribbon (plural blue ribbons)

1. The highest honor or prize awarded in some competitions and contests.

   Mom's strawberry jam won the blue ribbon at the Holland County Fair three years running.

   • 1859, Frederic William Farrar, Julian Home:

     These [scholarships] were the blue ribbon of the [college].

   • 2022 September 2, Kevin Roose, “An A.I.-Generated Picture Won an Art Prize. Artists Aren’t Happy.”, in The New York Times‎, →ISSN:

     Mr. Allen’s work, “Théâtre D’opéra Spatial,” took home the blue ribbon in the fair’s contest for emerging digital artists — making it one of the first A.I.-generated pieces to win such a prize, and setting off a fierce backlash from artists who accused him of, essentially, cheating.

2. The emblem of the Order of the Garter.
3. The badge adopted by a teetotal society.
4. (Internet) A badge worn or displayed to advocate freedom from online censorship.

   The icon of the blue ribbon on her site should not be taken to mean she opposes parental filtration programs.

blue ribbon (not comparable)

1. Very superior in quality, style, substance, prestige, etc.

   The governor selected a cadre of blue ribbon social scientists to serve on her poverty task force.

   A blue ribbon jury of accomplished artists will choose the best three entries.

2. (Australia, informal, politics) pertaining to the Liberal Party, its supporters and regions.

• gold medal

• “blue ribbon”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• “blue ribbon”, in Cambridge English Dictionary, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, 1999–present.