Читать книгу Bees Knees and Barmy Armies - Origins of the Words and Phrases we Use Every Day - Harry Oliver - Страница 13

If something is ‘the bee’s knees’, it is simply smashing, particularly good, perhaps the best. We use the phrase freely, yet the image it conjures up is a strange one. Most of us wouldn’t know what a bee’s knees look like, let alone why we compare wonderful things to a tiny furry body part. One theory is that the phrase puns on the word ‘business’, while another suggests that because bees carry pollen from flower to hive using little sacks on their legs, the wholesome goodness of what covers the bee’s knee during this task is what the phrase alludes to. Unfortunately there is nothing to substantiate either claim.

What is known is that the phrase first came into use in America in the 1920s, when there was a vast explosion of animal-inspired nonsense phrases. Other examples include ‘the cat’s pajamas’ and ‘the cat’s whiskers’, the second of which has stood the test of time better than the first. Others fell right out of use, but it is worth listing a few examples just because they are so quirky. So, next time you’re stuck for a fresh comparison, why not try ‘the cat’s miaow’, ‘the gnat’s elbow’, ‘the monkey’s eyebrows’, ‘the eel’s ankle’, ‘the elephant’s instep’, ‘the snake’s hip’ or the ‘bullfrog’s beard’.