blue ribbon是什么？

《世无定事》第29章。马洛里应邀来到诺布山哈里森的家参加晚宴。

原文：

The guest list was blue-ribbon. The governor of California was there, the French ambassador, a justice of the Supreme Court, and a dozen assorted politicians, artists, and business tycoons. Mallory could feel the power in the room, and it thrilled him. This is where I belong, he thought. Right here, with these people.

《译林》版译文：

客人的名单是精心挑选定下的，也是第一流的。加利福尼亚州州长、法国驻美大使、最高法院一位大法官都在场，还有十几位各类政客、艺术家和商界巨子。马洛早可以体验到屋内反射出的巨大权力，这使他觉得震慑心魂。这才是我所属于的地方，他心里想。就是这里，和这些人在一起。

我的译文：

客人的名单绝对是顶级的：加利福尼亚州州长、法国驻美大使、一位最高法院的大法官，还有十几位各式各样的政界腕儿、艺术家和商界巨头。马洛里可以明显感觉到这所房子里所散发出来的威权势力，这让他兴奋无比。这才是我该归属的地方，他心里想，就是这儿，和这些人在一起。

说明：

客人的名单不一定是“精心选定”的，原文中并没有这一层意思。哈里森作为银行巨头，肯定是“往来无白丁”，而且前文也已经提及这一点。马洛里的一个朋友告诉他：They don’t mingle with the hoi polloi.（他们是从不与平头百姓交往的。）去掉这层意思，反而更能体现出哈里森 “金融大鳄”的权势，也更能揭示马洛里趋炎附势的小人心态。

blue-ribbon：蓝带；优秀，一流；

原意为蓝绶带：竞赛中第一名所得的用蓝色缎带制成的奖章、徽章或蔷薇花饰；一等奖，最高荣誉——授予优秀人物的奖赏或荣誉；

英语中与颜色相关的词语数量颇丰，而且都表示一定的含义，但同颜色的本来意义相去很远。而每一条短语的发展与形成都同很久以前英国社会中某种盛行的风气有关。

这其中最为典型的一例便为：blue ribbon。

在十四、十五世纪人们对于在某种竞技或决斗中获胜者的奖励便是给其佩戴一条蓝色的缎带，于是便出现了blue ribbon这一短语。

后来又专用这一短语来比喻“优秀，一流”之类的意义，如∶a blue-ribbon fairy tale（经典童话）。

例句：

And our goal is to make the blue ribbon brand and service.（公司的目标是：“做一流的品牌、一流的服务”。）

She got a blue ribbon like everyone else.（像其他任何人一样她赢得了最高荣誉。）

维基百科中的blue-ribbon

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".

Fair competitions

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A blue ribbon won at a convention

In some fair competitions in the U.S., particularly 4-H and FFA livestock and horticultural events, blue ribbons may be awarded to any project or exhibit which meets or exceeds all of a competition's judging criteria. In Canada and Great Britain, blue ribbons are awarded to second place, with red ribbons awarded to first.

The project may not necessarily be the first-place finisher, however. In such cases, a purple ribbon may given to the champion and second-place (or reserve) champion.

Other uses

Blue ribbons for boys (and pink for girls) were used from the mid-19th century on christening gowns in Paris, and to a limited extent in the United States. In St. Petersburg (Russia) ribbons of the same color scheme were used on white funeral shrouds for children.

Companies and products

The Italian Peroni Brewery has a beer "Nastro Azzurro" referring to the Blue Riband held by the Italian SS Rex from 1933 to 1935.

Beginning in the 1940s, Warner Bros., in a cost-conserving effort, began to reissue its backlog of color cartoons under a new program which they called Merrie Melodies "Blue Ribbon" reissues. For the reissue, the original front-and-end title sequences were altered.

Blue Ribbon Barbecue is a chain of two restaurants and a catering service in the Boston suburbs.

Pabst Blue Ribbon Beer, which got its name from originally having a blue ribbon tied around the neck of the bottle (between 1882 and 1916).

Blue Ribbon is a brand of ice cream sold in Australia and owned by Unilever.