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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: E; B  ?0 n) T: Land from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
1 : 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
) A; W, O% F& U) h/ {9 d2 : a contemptible person
# b4 M2 Z" X6 l2 @- s( r# D swine fever  
$ u1 |5 f; a9 @" L; v6 C* j9 p1 : HOG CHOLERA
+ h- d, m3 \  p) G2 : 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
© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

5 x, R" o8 Q& o& ^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。
5 `: }2 v" g9 R" [4 xpig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
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!

! z, J6 G0 d4 A% k: i（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
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。
& P1 ?0 M0 n6 h% `- Y
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

! B. s+ }2 m. E' F6 a  h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

$ C" v% a3 H+ D5 e9 Dto cast pearls before swine
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2 R- X1 c. O& zcaviar to the general
6 V- v' A! k5 @7 A3 e7 G0 r
to preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
     
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8 U/ |* j: K7 r) r7 [The whistle jigs to a milestone.

; V) L  y* m; U9 S5 A% E# d+ @! R2 iWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
1 C+ H. K, G) [; l面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
. K4 ?7 U* T2 D0 `9 l! \* k
2 H2 p9 d$ w( cShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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( @  w' S# @- m5 L. rAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴

; t+ x5 t! R8 c
playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
8 l8 J) S4 ?; y2 w
7 k: \- S6 M2 N, ^/ B/ m
6 z% _0 q7 b" `  iTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
% o; I( b# W4 K4 q2 L  B3 @他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
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" U7 [, y* |$ E  c[ 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.

. t$ k' G4 e. D! g
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
9 ~3 X# H1 `2 A, z! u/ l可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
: \0 G& ]: T3 r3 N/ t2 J+ D也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
. X* ^# e; |0 h$ @+ s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