bee's knees

Definition from Wiktionary, a free dictionary

Contents 1 English 1.1 Etymology 1.2 Noun 1.2.1 Synonyms 1.2.2 Translations 1.3 References

[edit] English

[edit] Etymology

Slang coined in the 1920s. Stories in circulation about the phrase’s origin include: “b’s and e’s”, short for “be-alls and end-alls”; and a corruption of “business”.

A modern misinterpretation of the B’s and E’s and as such has become a piece of slang in its own right.

B’s and E’s pronounced with many colloquial English accents, would be combined as a single Bees-an-ees. The actual saying, “the be all and end all” is still in use. The very latest and best, something that cannot be improved upon.

[edit] Noun

the bee’s knees

1. (idiomatic) Something excellent, outstanding.

   We had strawberry shortcake for breakfast on Saturday and the kids thought it was the bee’s knees.

[edit] Synonyms

• cat’s meow
• cat’s pajamas, cat’s pyjamas
• cat’s whiskers

[edit] Translations

• Dutch: jé van hét, nowadays as obsolete as the bee’s knees itself
• French: c'est le pied (colloquial)
• Spanish: la mamá de Tarzán (referring to people, Hispano America), lo más, la hostia (colloquial, Spain), la leche (colloquial, Spain), la polla (vulgar, Spain), la repera (colloquial, Spain)

[edit] References

• Mark Israel, “the bee’s knees”, alt.usage.english FAQ, line 4407, 1997-09-29
• Kevin Cook, Dubbel Dutch, Kemper Conseil Publishing, 2001, p. 222