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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7 C1 x. g$ q2 X1 C3 ~and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
3 U# X  f# P% P6 b* p. m1 : 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
8 C& w2 |! E3 {8 a4 g; E* @2 : a contemptible person
/ Y9 y, \  E% c 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
  p: u) J5 P) ?! [© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

' _4 p* x7 Z1 M' JThe 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。
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。
1 F" K9 X2 s  H5 i' Xswine 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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" j5 ^/ ]2 y5 _6 X（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
8 X9 ]: `# V- LWith 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  ...

; ^; d4 X- ^0 v7 w9 o4 @& 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  
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! V3 y6 p; K8 O9 x7 l9 B+ oto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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to cast pearls before swine
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: x  O! n- [; `( `, xcaviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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4 D- g  t/ A7 _8 i" x( RThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
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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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She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
% u+ ?# z7 P: b: {, F. ]她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴


playing a harp before a Buffalo
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7 C& Z; Q1 S, P: X& g6 rplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

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5 v# v) \% I/ [! ]! u7 ntalk to a Brick wall
' v# L: f3 [  Q8 H- w1 g, H对牛弹琴
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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
+ }" ~4 y& g  c( B7 ?& K! U他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
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9 ^* [8 l4 A0 @) |# R[ 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.

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 w8 Q8 e! C& f& _也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
" _8 T1 U8 b" D. a/ 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