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by FLYxNIGHT on February 12th, 2007
There is no meaning beyond the idiomatic; "The cat's pyjamas" was popularized in the twenties by the fashionable set, along with a lot of other like phrases such as "The bees knees" and "the clams garters". The list goes on and on, and all but the first two have virtually disappeared from our language.
The phrases were just slang of the time for "cool" (or should I say 'hep'?)
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Comments
Who coined the phrase though.
by Drublic on February 12th, 2007
Nobody knows that; it appeared in speech before literature, from what I've read.
by FLYxNIGHT on February 13th, 2007
The bees knees isnot just a meaningless phrase, it actually refers to the part of the bee that collects the most pollen, which would be the "knees" if they had knees. It's the same area of the leg.
by BunnyBearization on August 10th, 2010