the bee's knees

English

Etymology

Attested since 1922, of unclear origin.[1] There are several suggested origins, but it may simply have been 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.[2] A popular folk etymology has the phrase referring to World Champion Charleston dancer Bee Jackson.[3] Another suggestion is that the phrase is a corruption of business[2][4] but this may be a back-formation. 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.[4]

Noun

the bee 's knees (plural only)

Used other than with a figurative or idiomatic meaning: see bee,‎ 's,‎ knee. Corbiculae.
(idiomatic, colloquial) Something or someone excellent, surpassingly wonderful, or cool.
We had strawberry shortcake for breakfast on Saturday and the kids thought it was the bee's knees.

I used to play in a band when I was younger. We had a few fans and we thought we were the bee's knees.

There is a new bee's knees every few minutes in New York.

Synonyms

(something or someone excellent): cat's meow, cat's pajamas, cat's pyjamas, cat's whiskers, dog's bollocks, the bomb, the business, the fox's socks, (vulgar) the shit, (vulgar) the tits

Translations

something excellent, outstanding

Chinese:
Mandarin: please add this translation if you can
Danish: please add this translation if you can
Dutch: jé van hét, het neusje van de zalm
Finnish: maailman paras juttu
French: c'est le must (colloquial), le nec plus ultra (standard)

German: das Gelbe vom Ei (de)
Italian: il meglio del meglio
Portuguese: please add this translation if you can
Russian: отпад (ru) m (otpad) (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), la neta (colloquial, Mexico), las perlas de la virgen (colloquial, Mexico)

References

Eric Partridge, A Dictionary of Catch Phrases, p. 45, Routledge, 1986 →ISBN.
Harry Oliver, Bees' Knees and Barmy Armies: Origins of the Words and Phrases We Use Every Day, John Blake Publishing Ltd, 2011 →ISBN
Alison Westwood, The Little Book of Clichés, Canary Press eBooks →ISBN.
Robert Allen, Allen's Dictionary of English Phrases, Penguin UK, 2008 →ISBN.

Mark Israel, alt.usage.english FAQ
Kevin Cook, Dubbel Dutch, Kemper Conseil Publishing, 2001, p. 222
“The bee's knees” in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds: Ingenious Tales of Words and Their Origins, Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Books in association with Penguin Books, 2004, →ISBN.
http://www.phrases.org.uk/meanings/the-bees-knees.html