When adults want to explain reproduction to children, why do they call intercourse "birds and the bees"?
2006-10-28 13:26:07 · 9 answers · asked by Anonymous in Education & Reference ➔ Words & Wordplay
It is generally agreed that this euphemism came from parents' hesitance to be too explicit in explaining "the facts of life" (there's another one!) The expression has been around for at least a couple of centuries, but no one has tracked down the earliest use.
But one reason this particular expression has caught on is the catchy ALLITERATION of a pair of short words. (Note that this has sometimes been expanded to "bird, bees and butterflies".)
http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-bir1.htm
2006-10-28 16:35:56 · answer #1 · answered by bruhaha 7 · 5⤊ 0⤋
Apparently it originated around the time of the Battle of Agincourt in 1415, between the English and the French. The English used the longbow and the arrows they used had pheasant feathers on the end of them to make them fly. To draw back and fire the longbow you needed your middle finger so the French threatened to cut off the middle finger of any captured English soldier so they could never fight and fire a longbow again. However the English used the one finger salute to taunt and mock the French. The one finger salute was called "giving the bird" because of the feathers used on the arrows of the longbow. This is one theory, anyway. The gesture itself has been around a lot longer, possibly originating in Roman times.
2016-05-22 04:06:11 · answer #2 · answered by Kerry 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I think it is a reference to birds and bees fly from flower to flower carrying pollen that fertilizes the plants and allows them to grow\reproduce.
2006-10-28 13:40:51 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 11⤊ 0⤋
My belief it is called the "birds and the bees"...because back in the day of our parents....SEX was NOT talk about!!!! Like now...But still for some of us it is still "Private"...Like for instance, some girl, a co-worker ask me when i went out on a date..."Did you sleep with him..?" i was appalled!!! how rude of her!!!...i said just NO, because i did not want to cause a scene AT WORK....but as you know people can be rude!!!Plus i honestly thought she was way out of line!!!
2006-10-28 13:52:28 · answer #4 · answered by sweet 4 · 0⤊ 4⤋
iv always wondered that too! I mean just say the man and the women! like whats the differance. maybe its becuase the kids are past the stork story. or maybe thats how they were told 20 years ago?
2006-10-28 13:30:20 · answer #5 · answered by ocfan 2 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Just a way to explain nature and what all beings need to do to procreate. Basically when adults don't want to use people as examples for sex when exaplaining where babies come from.
2006-10-28 13:40:18 · answer #6 · answered by Kimberly H 2 · 4⤊ 1⤋
Because it sounds better than the toads and the warthogs!
2006-10-28 13:28:43 · answer #7 · answered by tattie_herbert 6 · 0⤊ 4⤋
dude ive always wondered that too.
2006-10-28 13:27:53 · answer #8 · answered by lees 2 · 3⤊ 4⤋
I don't know
2006-10-28 14:27:17 · answer #9 · answered by Bu Tran 6 · 1⤊ 5⤋