Chrysti The Wordsmith: The Birds & the Bees

Greetings and welcome to Christie the wordsmith. Our English language is full of animal metaphors and similes. Stubborn as a mule blind as a bat. A coons age knee high to a grasshopper. What special significance is the birds and the bees. Linguistic code for the basic facts of sex especially as explained to children. The expression appears to account for human reproduction in a sexual terms using as examples birds laying their eggs and bees dispersing pollen amongst the spring flowers. A euphemism of Victorian proportions. The birds and the bees also manages to add a little ration to its delicate charms. There is surprisingly little documentation on this phrase many word watchers make guesses at its history. Some derive it from Cole Porter's 1928 song. Let's do it with the lyrics. Birds do it bees do it Even educated fleas do it let's do it. Let's fall in love then in 1065 apparently

with the same idea Porter had in mind. Some writer Herb Newman penned the lyrics to the hit tune the birds and the bees. Let me tell you about the birds and the bees and the flowers in the trees and the moon up above. And a thing called love. What does your dictionary say about the expression the birds and the bees. I'm Christie the wordsmith from KGO fam on the campus of Montana State University in Bozeman. Good day for divorce. CHRISTIE The wordsmith is sponsored by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and Zoot enterprises a high tech firm in Bozeman Montana offering challenging careers and innovative solutions for the financial services industry. Zoot web dot com.