英语词源
What is the origin of the phrase ‘the bee’s knees’?
短语bee’s knees’的由来
The phrase was first recorded in the late 18th century, when it was used to mean ‘something very small and insignificant’. Its current meaning dates from the 1920s, at which time a whole collection of American slang expressions were coined with the meaning ‘an outstandingperson or thing’. Examples included the flea’s eyebrows, the canary’s tusks, and one that still survives – the cat’s whiskers. The switch in meaning for the bee’s knees probably emergedbecause it was so similar in structure and pattern to these other phrases.
短语bee’s knee最早在18世纪末有书面记录，用来表示“非常小而微不足道的东西”。变作复数后的当代词义可以追溯到20世纪20年代，当时有一系列类似的美国俚语表达都表示“杰出的人或事”，例如the flea’s eyebrows、the canary’s tusks，以及现在还在使用的the cat’s whiskers。为何会将最初的单数bee’s knee用作复数，表示了不起的人或事，这可能是因为短语的结构和模式上与其他同义短语相近。
