blue-sky

See also: blue sky

English

Adjective

blue-sky

1. Alternative form of blue-skies

   blue-sky research

   • 1969, Martin Raymond Bender, An Introduction to Organized Labor in Television, page 28:

     In most sessions, there will be some "blue-sky" bargaining or ridiculous demands. It is better that these demands be carefully sidetracked than met head-on with ridicule.

   • 2014, Alan Cooper, Robert Reimann, David Cronin, Christopher Noessel, About Face: The Essentials of Interaction Design, John Wiley & Sons, →ISBN:

     If the stakeholders say they want “blue-sky thinking,” you can use carefully selected exploratory concepts to test your blue-sky ideas and watch their reactions.

2. (US, finance, dated) Involving or relating to fake stocks and bonds.
   • 1919, United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary, High Cost of Living as Affected by Trust and Monopolies, page 12:

     In that connection, when he is heard, I wish you would ask Mr. Commissioner Thompson in regard to his experience with the blue-sky cases; that is, the issuance of fake stock.

   • 1921, Reconstruction and Production: Hearings Before the Select Committee on Reconstruction and Production, United States Senate, Sixty-sixth Congress, Third Session, page 970:

     Senator KENYON. Do you have any blue-sky laws in Illinois?
     Mr. FORGAN. Yes, sir; we have.
     Senator KENYON. Are they pretty satisfactory in preventing the fake stock?

Verb

blue-sky (third-person singular simple present blue-skies, present participle blue-skying, simple past and past participle blue-skied)

1. (transitive, business) To engage in blue-sky thinking about.

   Synonym: brainstorm

   • 1978, Hearings, United States. Congress. House. Committee on Armed Services. Subcommittee on Investigations. Nonappropriated Fund Panel:

     We looked at everything, blue-skied it. We have a different organization than the Air Force, you know. They push it all to the base level with some central direction from the top and some direction from the major command. Ours essentially is technical direction, financial management from the top […]

   • 2000, Computerworld, volume 34, number 31, page 29:

     Maryville Technologies' stated commitments reads: “We will listen carefully to our clients and learn their technical and business needs to serve them well.” Maryville Technologies did just that with techies.com. “We sat down and blue-skied it," says Gibbons, who spearheaded the engagement.

Anagrams

• Sky Blue, sky blue, sky-blue