If you have a bee in your bonnet about something, you are obsessed with it and can't stop thinking about it. This phrase is often used when you are worried or angry about something. The word 'bonnet' refers to a kind of hat that covers the ears and is tied under the chin, worn by babies or, especially in the past, by women.You are Preoccupied or obsessed with an idea.
E.g: The council wants to close down our local library. I've got a bee in my bonnet about it!
Mum's got such a bee in her bonnet about the wedding. I keep telling her that it will be fine, but she's very worried.
This phrase clearly alludes to the state of agitation one would be in when finding a bee inside one's bonnet. It follows on from the earlier expression 'to have bees in one's head', which had much the same meaning. This is recorded from the 16th century, for example, in Alexander Douglas's Aeneis, 1513:
Quhat bern be thou in bed with heid full of beis?
Bee-keepers have always worn protective headgear when working with bees and it is possible, although entirely speculative, that the bonnet refers to this.
The first citation of 'bee in his bonnet' in print that I have found is the Reverend Philip Doddridge's Letters, 1790:
"I suppose you have heard of Mr. Coward's pranks. He has, as the Scotch call it, a Bee in his Bonnet."
A form of the phrase appears to have been used by Robert Herrick, in the poem The Mad Maid's Song, 1648. Robert Nares certainly thought so when he published A glossary; or, Collection of words in 1822. He wrote:
The phrase [bee in the bonnet] is clearly alluded to in the following passage:
For pity, sir, find out that bee
Which bore my love away.
I'll seek him in your bonnet brave,
which is an extract from Herrick's poem. On further reading of the full text, that case doesn't seem to be well made. Herrick's imagery is unusual, to say the least, and the 'him' that is referred to appears to be the mad maid's lost love, not an insect.
Thesaurus
(as) keen as mustard idiom -centric ablaze aflame aflutter agog alight all all of a flutter idiom amped animated anxiety anxious avid bananas bated be all over it idiom be as high as a kite idiom be flying high idiom be glued to sth idiom be heavily into sth idiom be in the mood (for sth/to do sth) idiom be nuts about sth/sb idiom be straining at the leash idiom be wild about sth/sb idiom bee Bible-thumping born-again buzz buzzed up buzzy care champ champ at the bit idiom cock-a-hoop delirious deliriously dotty eager effusive elated engrossed enthusiastic entranced evangelical excited exhilarated fanatical fascinated fasten fasten on/upon sth fevered float float sb's boat idiom flushed flushed with success idiom flutter fly follow full full-blooded full-on gag glue go ahead go hog wild idiom go into rhapsodies idiom gung-ho hail-fellow-well-met hands-on have a bee in your bonnet idiom heart heartily hearty heavily high hog hold hotly in a flutter idiom in knots idiom interested into intoxicated jazzed keen keyed up kid knot lean lean towards sth mad mad make (all) the right, correct, etc. noises idiom market mood noise nuts omnivorous orientated overheated overzealous passionate passionately pop-eyed potty psyched race rapt raring rave rhapsodic rhapsodize rhapsody sb's heart/mind/pulse races idiom shook sit sit up sniff sniff at sth spellbound spirited star-struck strain taut there is no holding sb (back) idiom transfix turn turn sb on to sth undeterred up voracious wholehearted wild willing your heart skips/misses a beat idiom zealous zestful
Sources: Cambridge.dictionary.org
https://www.phrases.org.uk
If you have a bee in your bonnet about something, you are obsessed with it and can't stop thinking about it. This phrase is often used when you are worried or angry about something. The word 'bonnet' refers to a kind of hat that covers the ears and is tied under the chin, worn by babies or, especially in the past, by women.You are Preoccupied or obsessed with an idea.
E.g: The council wants to close down our local library. I've got a bee in my bonnet about it!
Mum's got such a bee in her bonnet about the wedding. I keep telling her that it will be fine, but she's very worried.
This phrase clearly alludes to the state of agitation one would be in when finding a bee inside one's bonnet. It follows on from the earlier expression 'to have bees in one's head', which had much the same meaning. This is recorded from the 16th century, for example, in Alexander Douglas's Aeneis, 1513:
Quhat bern be thou in bed with heid full of beis?
Bee-keepers have always worn protective headgear when working with bees and it is possible, although entirely speculative, that the bonnet refers to this.
The first citation of 'bee in his bonnet' in print that I have found is the Reverend Philip Doddridge's Letters, 1790:
"I suppose you have heard of Mr. Coward's pranks. He has, as the Scotch call it, a Bee in his Bonnet."
A form of the phrase appears to have been used by Robert Herrick, in the poem The Mad Maid's Song, 1648. Robert Nares certainly thought so when he published A glossary; or, Collection of words in 1822. He wrote:
The phrase [bee in the bonnet] is clearly alluded to in the following passage:
For pity, sir, find out that bee
Which bore my love away.
I'll seek him in your bonnet brave,
which is an extract from Herrick's poem. On further reading of the full text, that case doesn't seem to be well made. Herrick's imagery is unusual, to say the least, and the 'him' that is referred to appears to be the mad maid's lost love, not an insect.
Thesaurus
(as) keen as mustard idiom -centric ablaze aflame aflutter agog alight all all of a flutter idiom amped animated anxiety anxious avid bananas bated be all over it idiom be as high as a kite idiom be flying high idiom be glued to sth idiom be heavily into sth idiom be in the mood (for sth/to do sth) idiom be nuts about sth/sb idiom be straining at the leash idiom be wild about sth/sb idiom bee Bible-thumping born-again buzz buzzed up buzzy care champ champ at the bit idiom cock-a-hoop delirious deliriously dotty eager effusive elated engrossed enthusiastic entranced evangelical excited exhilarated fanatical fascinated fasten fasten on/upon sth fevered float float sb's boat idiom flushed flushed with success idiom flutter fly follow full full-blooded full-on gag glue go ahead go hog wild idiom go into rhapsodies idiom gung-ho hail-fellow-well-met hands-on have a bee in your bonnet idiom heart heartily hearty heavily high hog hold hotly in a flutter idiom in knots idiom interested into intoxicated jazzed keen keyed up kid knot lean lean towards sth mad mad make (all) the right, correct, etc. noises idiom market mood noise nuts omnivorous orientated overheated overzealous passionate passionately pop-eyed potty psyched race rapt raring rave rhapsodic rhapsodize rhapsody sb's heart/mind/pulse races idiom shook sit sit up sniff sniff at sth spellbound spirited star-struck strain taut there is no holding sb (back) idiom transfix turn turn sb on to sth undeterred up voracious wholehearted wild willing your heart skips/misses a beat idiom zealous zestful
Sources: Cambridge.dictionary.org
https://www.phrases.org.uk
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