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Does anyone know the origin of the phrase, "It's the bee's knees!" -- meaning high accolades, the best thing ever? I grew up saying that in Salt Lake City, and still say it, but away from Utah, no one knows what it means.
Since I'm from Utah, it's been suggested it's linked somehow to the beehive symbol for Utah and bees' industriousness.
Any thoughts from anyone?
Stephanie
Welcome!
I've heard it from my parents who, as far as I know, never set foot in Utah. They lived their entire lives in Philadelphia. To me it suggests the 191x decade. I will try to find out more.
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I found a convincing treatment here:
Bee's knees
It seems this expression has enjoyed two lives, so far, with different meanings. I was off by a bit for the one we are discussing.
There's no profound reason to relate bees and knees other than the jaunty-sounding rhyme. In the 1920s it was fashionable to devise nonsense terms for excellence – ‘the snake's hips', ‘the kipper's knickersâ€, ‘the cat's pyjamas', ‘the sardine's whiskers' etc. Of these, the bee's knees and the cat's pyjamas are the only ones that have stood the test of time.
Hi, Rachel -- and welcome! Here are quite a few more examples, including the eel's ankle and the gnat's elbow.
Martha Barnette
Grant Barrett
Grant Barrett
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