[plug] [OT] Bee's knees

[Leon Brooks]

On Sat, 26 Jun 2004 00:07, Harry wrote:
> On Fri, 25 Jun 2004 23:36:08 +0800 "Arie Hol" <arie99 at ozemail.com.au>
> wrote:
>> Would you happen to know the origin of the expression :

>> "The bee[']s knees"

> Just beating JamCam to it ;-)

<quote url="http://www.briggs13.fsnet.co.uk/book/b.htm">
Bee: To be the bees knees; i.e. to be first class at something. There 
are a couple of explanations for this one, neither of which I find 
convincing, but which are all that I can find. The first refers to the 
delicate and precise way that bees knees bend when they clean off 
pollen from their bodies and transfer it to the sacks on their back 
legs. The second, and more likely, origin is one of rhyme and animal 
association. It was fashionable in the 1920s to coin this type of 
phrase, not all of which rhymed but all of which had animal 
connotations; other examples are "the cat's pyjamas" and "the eel's 
heel". Several of the sayings have died out, but "bees knees" survives. 

In December 2003 another possible origin was sent to me by Kerry Pitman, 
as follows:

Another explanation of "the bees knees" is that it derives from Clara 
Bow. She seems to have been known as "The Bee" because of her "bee 
stung lips". She was also known for showing off a rather nice set of 
knees. I don't remember where I first ran across this explanation but I 
searched Google with "clara bow"+"the bee" and verified that linkage to 
her name seems true. I also checked by searching "clara bow"+"knees" 
and verified that she was also known for showing off a first rate set 
of knees.
</quote>

Cheers; Leon