the birds and the bees

plural noun

informal + humorous
: the facts about sex that are told to children
He dreaded having to explain about the birds and the bees to his son.

Examples of the birds and the bees in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web No one will teach you unless your parents are talking the birds and the bees of money or a mentor is setting you straight early on. Hisham Ahmad, Forbes, 2 Oct. 2024 Maybe this explains why the teen has precisely zero friends to tell her about the birds and the bees. Zoe Haylock, Vulture, 16 May 2024 To wake up with the birds and the bees and the trees. Jaclyn Cosgrove, Los Angeles Times, 30 May 2024 Those can be the birds and the bees, yes, but also butterflies, beetles, and bats. Gabriela Riccardi, Quartz, 8 May 2024 Jesse and Christophe, holding hands, look on in fascinated awe—Jesse perhaps teaching the young Christophe the birds and the bees—while the couple, out in the open, displays no shyness. Richard Brody, The New Yorker, 5 Apr. 2024 Edward Segarra Most parents talk to their kids about the birds and the bees. USA TODAY, 4 Apr. 2024 There’s more than merely the birds and the bees conversation (buckle up). Alexa Mikhail, Fortune Well, 8 Aug. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'the birds and the bees.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Dictionary Entries Near the birds and the bees

Cite this Entry

“The birds and the bees.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/the%20birds%20and%20the%20bees. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.

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