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。

4 |. z; y! a5 t( O# [- z0 p' Pand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
! I; e) o1 ?% ~; p- U* O1 : 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
4 `, g  T5 u9 j swine fever  
' L- F* l+ D$ F. q- n) D/ }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
4 g( f# k( V& g/ ]. L$ j© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
6 W5 |1 @% j3 B' O/ `( G/ J
1 y& F# ]2 j* B4 E; uThe 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。
6 G$ ]/ ~' J: Y7 ?5 jhog 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!

（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
% w: I6 T1 i8 W$ A5 gWith 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。
1 I! v# f& }' X; J. Y! ]2 V
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

2 G! N0 a& E2 n/ e! r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

+ y8 o4 ]) ^; p3 ^; v. u5 kto cast pearls before swine
: Y, h: V* w& f/ W
# n$ |- ~, t3 Ucaviar to the general
: s& M0 P7 Q0 n  g+ N& |& Y
/ O3 C+ R( O0 @- oto preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
     
2 c# I% E+ X* H6 k: S9 Q
3 R0 P7 e( t; y, f/ H9 mThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

: @" E5 o( g+ U/ B( Y' h% V# sWith 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。
# v% f: o  w1 H' X" u6 m; o
She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
  e2 ?& \( A' o+ P: d( B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
对牛弹琴

2 x: E7 z2 X  O5 b5 r5 _
playing a harp before a Buffalo
6 \7 T3 b) l4 h! p6 [4 X! B; o* ~% R6 L
! B: v7 Y$ E) I6 b% G1 ]play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

  p* W' v% @. z
talk to a Brick wall
& B1 `2 c$ G, R" `1 ^对牛弹琴


5 n4 V$ C# U# q) k9 DTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
4 k3 T% [# q1 M" [; M他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
0 L/ _- O# U+ V9 \
1 V  j% X1 r4 z2 X% Y% X[ 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.

! o- \) z  j8 d( z
9 ~0 |9 N. A  U3 q1 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
- F: c: t9 K# ~& s- ^可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
5 o3 t2 C( ~6 r. T) w3 f. 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。
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