Blue Riband

English

Proper noun

Blue Riband

1. (nautical) A trophy for the fastest sea crossing of the Atlantic by a liner.
   • 1944 July and August, Charles E. Lee, “The "City of Truro"”, in Railway Magazine, pages 201–202:

     The Norddeutscher Lloyd steamship Kronprinz Wilhelm left New York on May 3 [1904], at 3.10 p.m. and reached Plymouth Sound on May 9 at 8 a.m. This was then a very fast crossing of the Atlantic, but it was not the record. The same ship had held the "Blue Riband" in 1902, but had been slightly bested by the Kaiser Wilhelm II, a larger vessel of the same line, in 1903, and that stood as the record until the Cunard Line secured the honours in 1909 with the Mauretania and held them for an unbroken period of 20 years.

2. (motorcycling) An award from the British Motorcycling Federation for advanced riding.
3. (often attributive, often without caps) The most prestigious event, award etc. of its type or class.

   The men's downhill race is considered by many to be the blue riband event of the Winter Olympics.

Translations

trophy

• Finnish: Sininen nauha

See also

• blue ribbon