# How ‘bee’s knees’ became high praise, and why do recipes sound so bossy? Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/how-bee-s-knees-became-high-praise-and-why-do-recipes-sound-so-bossy Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/how-bee-s-knees-became-high-praise-and-why-do-recipes-sound-so-bossy.md Podcast: [Grammar Girl: For Writers and Language Lovers.](https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700) Published: 2026-05-26T09:00:00+00:00 Episode link: https://shows.acast.com/grammar-girl/episodes/1188 Audio file: https://sphinx.acast.com/p/open/s/69c1476c007cdcf83fc0964b/e/6a0fa1ad163f1001830b603a/media.mp3 Processing state: not_requested JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/how-bee-s-knees-became-high-praise-and-why-do-recipes-sound-so-bossy Duration seconds: 1007 ## Resource 1188. This week, we look at how “the bee's knees” went from meaning something tiny to the cheeriest slang of the 1920s — and why it outlasted the cat's pajamas and the clam's overshoes. Then, we look at why recipes boss you around with phrases like “fold in cheese” and how cookbook language evolved from chatty medieval notes into clipped, no-nonsense commands. The "recipe" segment was by Karen Lunde, a career writer and former Quick & Dirty Tips editor. She writes I'll Go First, a Substack where she shares personal essays and memoir, then hands you a weekly writing prompt and a metaphorical pen. Find her on igofirst.org . 🔗  Join the Grammar Girl Patreon. 🔗  Share your familect recording in   Speakpipe  or by leaving a voicemail at 833-214-GIRL (833-214-4475) 🔗  Watch my   LinkedIn Learning writing courses . 🔗  Subscribe to the   newsletter . 🔗  Find an edited   transcript . 🔗  Get   Grammar Girl books . | HOST: Mignon Fogarty | Grammar Girl is part of  the Quick and Dirty Tips podcast network . Audio Engineer:  Castria Communications Director of Podcast: Holly Hutchings Advertising Operations Specialist: Morgan Christianson Marketing and Video: Nat Hoopes, Rebekah Sebastian Podcast Associate: Maram Elnagheeb | Theme music by  Catherine Rannus . | Grammar Girl Social Media:  YouTube .  TikTok .  Facebook .  Threads .  Instagram .  LinkedIn .  Mastodon .  Bluesky . Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information. ## Actions - request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/episodes/how-bee-s-knees-became-high-praise-and-why-do-recipes-sound-so-bossy/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode. - read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/grammar-girl-for-writers-and-language-lovers-159700/how-bee-s-knees-became-high-praise-and-why-do-recipes-sound-so-bossy.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource. A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed. ## Transcript Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.