Bee's knees
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The bee's knees is an English slang phrase.
The Oxford English Dictionary records the expression "bee's knee" from 1797 as meaning something small or insignificant.
The phrase "the bee's knees", meaning "the height of excellence", became popular in the U.S. in the 1920s, along with "the cat's whiskers" (possibly from the use of these in radio crystal sets), "the cat's pajamas" (pajamas were still new enough to be daring), and similar phrases that didn't endure: "the eel's ankle", "the elephant's instep", "the snake's hip" and "the capybara's spats".
The phrase's actual origin has not been determined, but several theories include "b's and e's" (short for "be-alls and end-alls") and a corruption of "business" ("It's the beezness.")
[edit] Modern Variations
More recently the phrase 'the dogs bollocks' has been used as a sardonic reference.
[edit] Apoidea Apiformes
A bee's "corbiculae", or pollen basket, is located on its tibiae (midsegments of its legs).
[edit] Sources
Mark Israel, 'Phrase Origins: "The bee's knees"' alt.usage.english FAQ file,(line 4407), (29 Sept 1997).
