why it's swine, why not pig?

兰颜知己

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine. 面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
2 p& O( [# V) h+ h3 C1 : any of various stout-bodied short-legged omnivorous artiodactyl mammals (family Suidae) with a thick bristly skin and a long flexible snout especially : a domesticated one descended from the wild boar
9 M# z$ g" F& {, h5 [" b2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
: @/ j* Q% c# C: L1 a( |5 I1 : HOG CHOLERA
8 l! ~( F" }; o$ k7 E' A2 : an acute highly contagious usually fatal disease of swine that is caused by a double-stranded DNA virus (species African swine fever virus of the genus Asfivirus, family Asfarviridae), that resembles but is more severe than hog cholera, and that is indigenous to Africa
+ O5 C1 D2 t4 P, a9 p: Y/ ~& l© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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  E9 k( H6 y4 f# @" X7 S5 |The reason to use swine may be that it is more formal a word than pig.

兰颜知己

got u, tks a lot.

Xbfeng

Swine Flu but not Pig Flu.

yuanyuan

pig, hog, swine 都含“猪”的意思。
pig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
/ l' F$ k; R& u0 ]hog 指“阉过供食用的公猪”, 尤指“重量超过一百二十磅的阉过的供食用的公猪”, 如: raise hogs 养猪。
swine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

' U: T7 n$ P8 q  Z' C( f( \! H, `! G（转自金山词霸）

rainbowfish

Great! Thank you !

金币

原帖由 兰颜知己 于 2009-4-29 12:56 发表
7 j9 w1 T2 c) tWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine. 面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

$ B* L1 k2 \" R# |3 {3 \9 {and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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顺带说一句啊，要想说对牛谈琴的意思不要用这个casting pearls before swine，至少我知在加拿大他们一般不这么说。有时候这些词典真是害人。

billzhao

估计casting pearls before swine是个比较书面话的成语吧，大家都认识，但说话一般不那么说，否则被人说使用 big words.

billzhao

对牛弹琴  

to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

7 A4 _2 I( @7 [1 f) Z1 A# o6 J/ ^8 Ito cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general
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, p3 e- c9 ^5 u! p! @' J/ S8 eto preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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3 s5 |, O! s/ p$ U/ W9 LThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
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" X% j7 s0 {0 N2 i2 r. K9 D* uWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
- Q' f$ w# A1 K. w- \3 U: Q" v) \她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。

/ L2 s( M9 n" U  R+ n# q. YAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴

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playing a harp before a Buffalo

$ P* v/ _# B' k4 f+ ~! H7 Lplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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9 n0 O7 b( n% h+ T. b, Vtalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

[ 本帖最后由 billzhao 于 2009-4-30 10:49 编辑 ]

金币

原帖由 billzhao 于 2009-4-30 11:41 发表
估计casting pearls before swine是个比较书面话的成语吧，大家都认识，但说话一般不那么说，否则被人说使用 big words.

4 @, W* |# O7 F" R6 h
我找了个老外确认了一下，他们好像完全不知有这个说法。

billzhao

可能
! Z6 N* [) A) B: C+ x! m: @% {) S可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
) o! c  E0 q% h2 {还有可能是人们的知识水平参差不齐，你问的那几个人在正态分布的尾端。
不管怎么说，既然字典上有了，就是有这种说法，而且是相当的人知道这种说法，否则就不会遍到字典上去了