noun
General Slang
The Berries
/ðə ˈbɛr.iz/ · noun · slang
Top-shelf praise of the Jazz Age, the best of the best, right up there with the cat's meow.
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Definitions
1
An exclamation of enthusiastic approval.
“A whole night of dancing? The berries!”
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2
Used of a delightful person.
“Your sister is absolutely the berries.”
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3
Something excellent, wonderful, or first-rate; the height of quality.
“That new jazz record is the berries.”
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The Berries In A Sentence
This speakeasy is the berries on a Saturday night.
He thinks his new roadster is the berries.
Her Charleston is the berries, smoothest on the floor.
Origin & Usage
1920s American slang for something excellent, part of a family of '-superlative' food-and-animal phrases alongside 'the cat's pajamas' and 'the bee's knees'. Widely attested in Jazz Age glossaries and humor columns of the period.
Variants
berries
People Also Ask
What does the berries mean?
It means something is excellent or the best, equivalent to saying it's terrific.
Where did the berries come from?
It is 1920s American slang, one of many playful superlatives like 'the bee's knees' and 'the cat's pajamas'.
Is the berries the same as the cat's meow?
Yes, both were Jazz Age ways to call something the very best.
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