the bee's knees

== English == === Etymology === Attested since 1922, of unclear origin. There are several suggested origins, but it most likely arose in imitation of the numerous animal-related nonsense phrases popular in the 1920s such as the cat's pyjamas, cat's whiskers, cat's meow, gnat's elbow, monkey's eyebrows etc. A popular folk etymology has the phrase referring to the world champion dancer Bee Jackson. Another suggestion is that the phrase is a corruption of business. The singular bee's knee is attested from the late 18th century meaning something small or insignificant in the phrase big as a bee's knee. Also as weak as a bee's knee is attested in Ireland (1870). It is possible that the bee's knees is a deliberate inversion of this meaning but is not attested. Another possibility is that this is a reference to the (visible) blobs of pollen in bees' corbiculae. === Pronunciation === === Noun === the bee's knees pl (plural only) (idiomatic, colloquial, dated) Something or someone excellent, surpassingly wonderful, or cool. Synonyms: cat's meow, cat's pyjamas, dog's bollocks, the bomb; see also Thesaurus:best Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see bee,‎ -'s,‎ knee. Corbiculae. ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === Mark Israel, alt.usage.english FAQ Kevin Cook, Dubbel Dutch, Kemper Conseil Publishing, 2001, p. 222 Michael Quinion (2004), “The bee's knees”, in Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, →ISBN.