TikTok 
TikTok users are describing people as being of the ‘beekeeping age’, but what is the actual meaning of the Rick and Morty inspired joke?
Funny jokes and quirky trends don’t tend to stick around too long on TikTok, so it can be pretty easy to miss them if you take your finger off the For You Page.
The app‘s latest obsession is a subtle two-word phrase people are using to indicate a certain type of feeling that they may have towards someone. But not everyone is sure about the exact meaning of the beekeeping age joke, or where it came from in the first place.
Beekeeping Age joke takes over TikTok
Having first gone viral a few months ago, the beekeeping age trend is back and has quickly taken over the TikTok timelines of thousands of users.
Though many of the popular videos were actually posted last summer, clips using the 30-second audio are recirculating, as users explain to one another who they believe to be of ‘beekeeping age’.
This clip for example, in which a daughter explains to her father that he has been receiving a number of beekeeping comments, has racked up over 400,000 views:
While other users have boldly claimed that their significant other could be described as being of beekeeping age:
Meaning of Beekeeping Age explained
But what does it actually mean? Is it a good thing to be described as beekeeping age?
The meaning of the bee trend on TikTok is that if you suggest that someone is of beekeeping age, then you wish to insinuate that you find someone older than you attractive.
In theory, it is generally intended as a compliment, as you are effectively suggesting that though people wouldn’t typically expect you to find a certain person attractive, you do anyway – despite the presumed age gap.
The joke is often used when people describe the feeling of having a crush on a friend’s parent as a way of helping to dilute the awkward nature of such a conversation.
Rick and Morty origin of the beekeeping joke
Though the audio has been used in over 14,000 videos, not everyone may be aware of the actual origin of the beekeeping age clip.
As it turns out, the beekeeping clip actually originates from a season 4 episode of Rick and Morty, in which Summer and Trisha can be seen watching Jerry tend to his bees.
“Look at your dad, such a dork keeping bees,” begins Tricia, before proceeding to confess to an uninterested Summer about how she actually finds her dad being a beekeeper to be attractive. The clip ends abruptly with Summer confessing that she, let’s just say, wishes to pursue Jerry romantically.
Inspired by the awkward nature of the conversation and Tricia’s embarrassing confession, thousands of TikTokkers have tried their hand at acting out the scene, though be warned as strong language can be heard at the very end of the audio clip.
