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。
( x# {0 i* ?6 z! _$ @/ _
and 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
3 J- u0 y* _# g2 W2 : 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

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。
3 h* o7 S8 T5 V* t! q8 \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。
# v+ @, r. x( x; kswine 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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. z/ e+ M- c* `" W（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
& G' ^8 J* V5 Z0 p4 jWith 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。

/ H  T1 c9 G4 {- H/ mand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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  
4 v" Y- m: f8 j
6 h/ a' b$ r8 ~to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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# z0 E5 J6 I, C& x' O$ ?to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

+ L% }, H! J6 B2 jto talk over sb's head
     
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7 D) q6 v% d5 P- s) SThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

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。

; l, o! _! u3 B" }- z! j! M' [6 k. }She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
( M5 m4 [8 C6 }) o% n她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。

9 j0 }* B& T% u" J1 p: I- TAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
; T' q/ X  p0 k9 O3 U, D7 @对牛弹琴

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5 @1 w% {+ B' C; |, H) B1 ^: W playing a harp before a Buffalo

2 S4 P/ B) n0 h* v# M: [play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

4 [, B8 b0 R+ x0 x) T
talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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# N' s& v% a& uTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
- c/ o. E0 D, m( ^4 E7 o; y6 O7 p他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
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[ 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
0 n/ |6 q* w6 J0 \$ m% u) r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.

# y: |: \1 E$ C3 [
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。
0 s6 X7 t! i9 W8 u" }4 e1 C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。
: c% n& d2 C6 \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