the bee’s knees

極好的人或物

Today on Language Snacks we take a look at the expression the bee’s knees.

Let’s read the dialogue.

A： I like your new computer. Is it a Mac？

B： Yes， it’s the bee’s knees—I love it.

A： How come you always have the latest？

B： Well， if you want to be the best， you’ve got to be ahead of the rest.

The bee’s knees， what a funny expression—can you guess what it means？ It’s actually used to describe something that is the best or most desirable. Apparently， it originates from the 1930s when it was quite fashionable to make funny little expressions like this one.

—Do you like this website？

—I think it’s the bee’s knees.

And that’s it for now—join us again for some more Language Snacks.

Exercises

1. What does the expression the bee’s knees mean？

a. Something is the best.

b. Something is the worst.

2. When did the expression originate？

Answers

1. a

2. The 1930s.