Birds and the Bees?

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I've heard this phrase often in english, and I'm curious. What does this phrase mean? All I know is that parents tell it to their children.

 

It's how some parents might describe the process of reproduction to their children. Because they might be too embarrassed to explain it terms of human reproduction, they might use the analogy of the birds and bees carrying pollen from one flower to another to fertilise the plant so that it can grow seeds that grow into new baby plants.

It's a parental euphemism for the word "SEX".

 

Really? I thought it was a saying for "all that stuff" or "all that jazz" or like phrases.

And I thought it goes "birds and the bees and the coconut trees."

 

Nope, its as Harbourboy said. But for an example from Armegedon: "I learned the birds and the bees from Freddy Newton's tatoos!"

 

Or the phrase: "Didn't your parents ever talk to you about the birds and the bees?"

 

all the fore posts are right. They got this saying because the birds and the bees carrying nectar and pollen between plants, when they take some from a 'male' plant and put in in a 'female' plant this is seen as 'fertilizing the egg' therefore you get 'the birds and the bees'. I think this is right anyway.

 

2005-1989=...

Okay, perhaps it becomes interesting in that age. Just remember that it's all about sex, sex, sex, sex.

 

And that's why it's not worth it.

 

It's actually quite silly to call it "Birds and Bees". I never saw birds having sex with bees. We call it "Flowers and Bees", but that makes little more sense. I never saw bees having sex with flowers either. A narcissistic bee, perhaps, having sex with a narcis.

An other question, if I may?

What does it mean to "stand on a higher ground"?

Is it a positive thing or negative? Does it have to do with arrogance or rather with understanding?
Or am I totally wrong...?

 

its positive, it means not lowering yourself to other peoples standards, but in a good way, for example, if someone insults your mother, you ignore them instead of sinking as low as to insult their mother.

 

Cool. Thank you. Always wondered about that one.

 

But it can sometimes be used in a negative way, such as:

"As usual, Splunge was taking the moral high ground."

In this case, Splunge would be acting as if he was more moralistic than and superior to everyone else.

 

Actually this seems to be a very good explanation as to why birds and bees are used to explain a delicate topic to youngsters. http://www.writersblock.ca/winter1997/letter.htm

 

oh manomanoman.