birds and bees

English

Alternative forms

• the birds and the bees

Etymology

(This etymology is missing or incomplete. Please add to it, or discuss it at the Etymology scriptorium.)

Noun

birds and bees pl (plural only)

1. (euphemistic, idiomatic) Informal education about sex.

   Synonym: facts of life

   We learned about birds and bees back in school.

2. (euphemistic, idiomatic) Informal (by analogy) sex itself.

   I had the birds and bees with your mother.

Quotations

• For quotations using this term, see Citations:the birds and the bees.

Translations

euphemistic: sexual activity

• Danish: bierne og blomsterne
• Dutch: de bloemetjes en de bijtjes n pl (literally “the little flowers and bees”)
• Finnish: kukat ja mehiläiset
• German: die Bienchen und Blümchen n pl (literally “the little bees and flowers”), Tatsachen des Lebens f pl (literally “facts of life”)
• Swedish: blommor och bin (sv) c pl (literally “flowers and bees”)

See also

• the talk