Where does the expression ';Thats the bees knees'; come from ? Do bees really have knees ?

David, you have to let me know when you find out. Honestly, I don't know the etymology. I do know it's 1920's Flapper slang. It's never been fully explained to my satisfaction in print because everyone from back then is either dead or on their way to being so. I studied the '20's a lot, till no positive I.D. It's like the Mexican slang word ' gringo.' I still don't know what that means either. And that's over a hundred fifty years old. If you ask a Mexican you'll get vague responses that don't ring true either. It can be desultory or a term of raw endearment. Sorry, man.Where does the expression ';Thats the bees knees'; come from ? Do bees really have knees ?
Thanks, Dave. Twenty three skiddoo.....if that means what I think it means. Report Abuse
Where does the expression ';Thats the bees knees'; come from ? Do bees really have knees ?
The Jazz Age in America, during the 1920's...just a snappy little phrase that rhymes...quite shocking after a time of such formal language usage. And no, bees have no knees...and cat's don't wear pajamas.
I think it comes form the word business. The saying that for example, 'in this new dress I looked the bees knees' may mean that in this new dress I really looked the business as in I really looked like a model or something... I think, but I'm not sure. BusiNess if you say it with longer wovels then you'll get bees knees
it comes from the same frase as ';The Dogs Bollock`s '; this is the modern day equivilent to the bees knees which is ryming slang .