First and blues?

Question

Hi everyone.Could you tell me what " Firsts and Blues" means?He was a young man of thirty-seven. He was glittering with Firsts and Blues. He had a personality that could reduce the Big Hall to silence by the mere lifting of an eyebrow. Thanks!

Mister Micawber · Accepted Answer

silak12He was a young man of thirty-seven.

First, 37 is not young, so there is some irony in the text.

silak12 Firsts and Blues

First-place prizes and blue ribbons? That is just a guess. The phrase is not an idiom.

silak12He had a personality that could reduce the Big Hall to silence by the mere lifting of an eyebrow.

Hyperbolically, he had machismo.

BillJ · Answer

silak12
Hi everyone.
Could you tell me what " Firsts and Blues" means?
He was a young man of thirty-seven. He was glittering with Firsts and Blues. He had a personality that could reduce the Big Hall to silence by the mere lifting of an eyebrow.
Thanks!

The quote is from the wonderful and moving novel 'Goodbye, Mr Chips' by James Hilton (which I assume you are reading or studying?) and it describes Millfield's new headmaster, Mr Ralston.

The terms 'first' and 'blue' refer to distinctions awarded to students at either of the world's finest universities, Oxford and Cambridge, in England.

A 'first' is a place in the top grade in an examination, typically a first class degree awarded to a student at either Oxford or Cambridge, though a 'first' can be awarded by other universities.

A 'blue' is a distinction awarded to someone who has represented Cambridge University (a Cambridge blue) or Oxford University (an Oxford blue) at a particular sport in a match between the two universities. As it happens, my very own doctor of years ago was a rowing 'blue'; I recall he kept an oar on the wall of the waiting room at his surgery -- presumably as a proud memento of his achievement.

First and blues?

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