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。

2 M4 L1 h9 g* b. |8 _and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
: w1 R3 m$ j! F% b' v8 w1 : 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
$ m5 Q7 O7 n. t) r2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
2 : 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
  c9 y4 `' a9 x* y' C
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。
7 o# k' y8 A5 \2 s2 G+ G" k" Wpig 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。
9 f2 ?9 U: T% x$ z. ]. Q& P) qswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!
! S" Z9 P) B+ H7 |
* q9 D* O; g0 ]9 I( l. C4 h（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。
) j& s/ O7 R9 n) \2 K# P
$ K* I+ K# A5 y0 \. p: x2 tand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

/ O+ G7 V" ?7 Y9 ?- }: Z1 d: A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  
/ ~' W6 l) ]1 K8 `/ M* P: c1 `
; w: b/ O' R/ tto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
# B# G* C# s3 s! V- @
to preach to deaf ears

/ E. G7 `5 x( X- d* n% k3 kto talk over sb's head
     
+ ^- ~0 D5 h( [
The whistle jigs to a milestone.
, I. D2 b, G5 X. w# X# H/ |
With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
3 A1 v7 v) D0 Q5 U4 E面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
3 w8 T) s# @1 S- x6 r& ~- U
. d  C+ ^; _8 |* [+ YShe 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。
! Z1 n& w( T3 U8 p) x
An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
7 s0 n* v* I# c
, \" a. C/ a0 a/ l, V
+ A& P' E: C1 \5 C' a; w playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


: m- y9 M" [! L9 E8 \* htalk to a Brick wall
) u% o- r/ e# K& O1 o对牛弹琴

/ Q, j& j$ U& F% P) e
+ `: f+ d7 ]7 P5 x5 X2 vTheir 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.
  G( V& R1 |& ]* J
+ H" _' A% A) q! E6 q# P[ 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.

6 r7 U8 D8 V8 p' T; N. l
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
可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
; w3 H" A0 o& N6 y9 K5 ]也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
$ h4 ]  c: h7 W2 b# f: |5 {6 Y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。
$ w# {) m$ f4 e# ?% I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