Bine Ribbon
Preserved but no longer current.
The blue ribbon is the Garter, the badge of the highest and most coveted Order of Knighthood in the gift of the British Crown; hence the term is used to denote the highest honour attainable in any profession, walk of life, etc. The blue ribbon of the Church is the Archbishopric of Canterbury, that in law is the office of Lord Chancellor. See CORDON BLEU.
Era: ca. 1898 (Victorian)
Sources & notes
Reproduced from Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898 edition, public domain; archive.org, retrieved 2026-07-31; OCR text, minor errors possible). Reflects the scholarship and attitudes of its era.
Common questions
What does “Bine Ribbon” mean?
The blue ribbon is the Garter, the badge of the highest and most coveted Order of Knighthood in the gift of the British Crown; hence the term is used to denote the highest honour attainable in any profession, walk of life, etc. The blue ribbon of the Church is the Archbishopric of Canterbury, that in law is the office of Lord Chancellor. See CORDON BLEU.
Is “Bine Ribbon” formal or informal?
No register label has been reviewed yet — treat it as neutral and check the usage notes above.