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A bee’s “corbiculae”, or pollen-baskets, are located on its

tibiae (midsegments of its legs). The phrase “the bee’s knees”,

meaning “the height of excellence”, became popular in the U.S. in

the 1920s, along with “the cat’s whiskers” (possibly from the use

of these in radio crystal sets), “the cat’s pajamas” (pyjamas were

still new enough to be daring), and similar phrases which made less

sense and didn’t endure: “the eel’s ankle”, “the elephant’s

instep”, “the snake’s hip”. Stories in circulation about the

phrase’s origin include: “b’s and e’s”, short for “be-alls and

end-alls”; and a corruption of “business”.

The phrase is fun, but I think of it as slang from the nineteen twenties and not used today except in fun.

when someone refers to something as the nee’s knees, there is always a hint of irony and a hint that the person using it does not really consider it all that important.