Conference thebay::joyoflex

    I believe that blue stockings started off as those who had been to
    Oxford or Cambridge and got a blue - only later did it take on its
    'conservative' meaning.

Cambridge -> blue stocking -> Conservative 
-> blue-faced, stockinged Conservative => OBSCENE

QED

Apologies to those who don't follow recent UK news 
scandals  :-)

    ... no discussion of the legal aspects of "blue" would be complete
    without mention of the New England Colony's "Blue Laws," some of which
    (I believe) survive to this day...
    

    What's the key aspect to the New England Colony's Blue Laws that makes
    it necessary to mention them. 

    Blue laws were commonly written in blue ink and proscribed activities
    considered improper (possibly obscene, hence the term?) by the Puritan
    masters of the colony.

    	What laws did they write in red ink? Inquiring minds ...

    What's "getting a blue?"  Or a half-blue, for that matter?

    Getting selected to play for the College or University team.
    
    As already described, there are some sports which are treated as
    half-blues.  This originates from the days when they were minority
    sports.

    Do you actually get a blue something?  In the US, athletes get
    "letters" (large cloth letters, often attached to sweaters) as a
    visible recognition of their participation in a sport.  There are
    no "half letters," but the sport is usually indicated by some sort
    of icon on the letter.                   
    
    I don't know how important the actual letters or letter sweaters
    are on US college campuses these days, but I remember seeing them
    lo! these many years ago when I was in college (though they were
    rare even then, at least in public view).

May I play too?

I think I had a thought this morning (but I could be wrong).
"Blue" movies, "blue" laws etc - wouldn't it be related to the association 
with illegality? 
Most British Police wear blue uniforms. 
A "Bluebottle" is a police-officer. 
"Copping a bluie" is getting a ticket for some kind of traffic violation. 
"Blue light" discos are discos supervised by the police.

"Blue stockings" - remember Mary Poppins? Many British governesses/nannies wore 
dark colours. They were assumed to be educated. I'm not certain how the colour 
of their legs came to be public knowledge. :^)

Chele

    According to W9NCD the Bluestocking society was an 18th century
    literary club.
    
    My former teacher, William Gass, whom I detested, wrote a short book
    called "Blue", or something like that, meditating on the varied
    meanings of the word.  In all his meditation, he never once mentioned
    blues music, which is a sample of why I detested him.
    

    Re .12
    
    The relationship with police, I think, is spurious.  Before Sir Robert
    Peel set up the London Metropolitan Police ("bobbies" or "peelers"),
    most police didn't wear standardized blue-colored military-style
    uniforms.  Blue laws, and their name, are much older than that;
    according to W9NCD, the term is known from American writings as early
    as 1781.

    A bit more about Cambridge blues. I wondered whether to give it a cap.
    B, but that might have suggested some physical thing (which I don't
    believe a Blue gets - the cap. B there was because I _was_ talking
    about a physical thing this time, viz, a person). I believe winning
    a blue gives the winner certain University privileges - like wearing
    a particular tie. These privileges aren't policed, except maybe by
    the University Beadles (sort of honorific escort for certain University
    officers), and by a less tangible social pressure - People Who Know
    would probably cross the street to avoid someone who was wearing
    an unmerited tie. (Ain't y'all glad you live in a classless society?)
    
    On reflection I've realized that my earlier definition of a blue was
    not specific enough. It is quite possible to play for the university
    team and not get a blue. You have to play for the university team and
    take part in the annual Oxford vs Cambridge contest (usually called
    `the Varsity Match', but sometimes not - e.g. `the Boat Race'). And it
    has to be the first team (boat): the Cambridge 2nd boat (always, for
    some reason, called `Goldie') rows against the Oxford 2nd boat (always,
    for some reason, called `Isis') on the same day as the Boat Race. I
    don't believe the oarsmen or the cox get blues.
    
    (The oarsmen [sic] don't wear blue stockings; the cox sometimes does.)
    
    b

    Blue laws.  The definitive (?) answer fell into my lap yesterday, in a
    Boston Globe newspaper article.  The state of Massachusetts is being
    sued for repeal of its blue laws, so named, according to the article,
    "for the blue paper they were written on."
    
    -dick

re .15

I represented Cambridge in the annual Oxford vs Cambridge cycle race, and 
therefore have the right to wear the tie.  As a minority sport, Cycling only 
qualified for a half-blue, and in fact the tie is "egg-shell" and white 
rather than blue.  Such ties are treated with appropriate deference, and as 
such are most likely to be seen holding up the owner's gardening trousers.

    what about the blue light(lite) specials?
    how do they fit in?
    
    genie

    What's the reason for describing certain company's shares as 'blue
    chip'?

>>    What's the reason for describing certain company's shares as 'blue
>>    chip'?

	It's my understanding that it's because the poker chip with
	the highest value is blue.

    I remember looking this up a while back, and finding some
    unenlightening stuff about `most reliable shares'. I looked again this
    w/e - still no joy. It's on the back-burner as something to be
    discovered, but I have nothing usefult to say, Nick.
    
    b
    
    (ps: I don't buy Di's suggestion, but I can't say it's wrong.)

    I posed my question when many miles from my NSOED - and I look upon the
    denizens of this Notesfile as a very good alternative information
    source.
    
    Now I have the NSOED to hand the answer is as Di suggests, its a high
    value poker chip and the meaning has transferred to 'shares which are a
    good, though not risk-free, investment'.

    Maybe Alpha should be packaged in a blue case?  :-)
    
    (But the shares would still be risky.)