blue skiesadj.
/ˌbluː ˈskʌɪz/, U.S. /ˈblu ˈˌskaɪz/ = blue-sky adj. (in various senses).
ΘΚΠ
the mind > possession > taking > stealing or theft > defrauding or swindling > [adjective] > defrauding or swindling
cheatingc1555
sharking1608
shaving1611
rooking1631
sharping1691
black-legged1761
swindling1774
managed1810
cooked1849
bunco-steering1875
blue sky and hot air1905
blue skies1925
the world > existence and causation > causation > basis or foundation > [adjective]
fundamental1588
primal1619
groundinga1641
radical1648
radicative1657
ultimate1659
substrated1663
substrate1678
foundational1683
principial1699
basic1846
basal1866
substratal1881
nuclear1912
gut1964
blue skies1985
the world > action or operation > harm or detriment > disadvantage > uselessness > inexpediency > [adjective] > in the current state of development
blue-sky1920
blue skies1985
the mind > emotion > pleasure > cheerfulness > [adjective] > cheerfully optimistic
sanguine1509
elastical1660
buoyanta1748
elastic1786
resilient1830
sunshine-showery1830
happy-go-lucky1835
toujours gai1899
bouncy1921
upbeat1947
blue skies2005
1925 Carbondale (Illinois) Free Press 12 Sept. 1/3 [He] has been charged with selling securities in violation of the Illinois blue skies laws.
1959 Fairbanks (Alaska) Daily News-Miner 11 Apr. 3/7 The Senate restored the blue skies securities control measure to its original form.
1985 Times 19 Apr. 13/4 If..the cutting edge of blue skies research becomes somewhat blunted, [etc.].
2005 H. Mantel Beyond Black vii. 260 It's time for blue-skies thinking. There's no reason why you shouldn't be at least ten per cent more productive.
Compounds
blue skies research n. = blue-sky research n. at blue-sky adj. Compounds.
ΘΚΠ
the mind > attention and judgement > discovery > research > [noun] > research and development
research and development1892
R and D1952
blue-sky research1959
blue skies research1972
1972 Engineer 27 Jan. 32 (heading) The growing commercialism in R&D circles is a good thing—as long as blue skies research is not neglected.
1993 New Scientist 9 Oct. 15/3 The funding of blue skies research is diminishing.
2003 J. Bennett Eval. Methods in Res. i. 13 One type of research—often called pure or, more colloquially, ‘blue skies’ research—is open-ended and exploratory, seeking new patterns, explanations and theories.
This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2013; most recently modified version published online December 2021).
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adj.1925