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.
; @' k" P# h$ s9 E0 K, z1 : 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
2 : a contemptible person
1 m  G! O5 {) W2 W9 t 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
) u' I7 u- B# r1 y3 {© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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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。
! u, H; f* q7 G; H  F, F% b/ |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。
$ f# \# x) i( Aswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!
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（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
/ A; q8 ~; J+ QWith 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。

and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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. L0 C7 m: V- K2 q' 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  

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

to cast pearls before swine

% h! R7 j6 A$ ^) ecaviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
  ]( n) G, f7 [# e面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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; E4 n# O  h8 x- u4 eShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
7 z6 u( M3 \' I4 i% K6 ^' ?她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。

An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
% p% `# F1 N) T+ b对牛弹琴
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' Z  T( m9 E6 `3 ~3 Z7 a8 s) ]; i: f playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

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talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴


" \2 W2 O8 k3 G5 KTheir 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
2 q8 N( \) e0 m% r  h9 {+ K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.

8 T* U& t9 y) ?$ J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
+ {' Y" I- J" p& G- r7 m7 r" k/ p可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
4 ^# o, _) p, I: C' y7 b也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
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。
" @5 ?( W$ i& J% D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