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.
# D# n  K& [+ s4 ?- X( r1 l$ }0 Q1 : 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
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。
* g+ A6 O' m  m1 spig 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。
$ y: d$ |8 P) _; U+ ]swine 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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# ]  A* r$ d& 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
4 r- l! x, P5 X! M9 b" o$ HWith 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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5 D) F& l! G8 \5 cand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

; R( ^( ~- E2 d. I9 W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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to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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. c* m4 D: X. k- x: l# ]; S+ h1 Tto cast pearls before swine

% X- Q( X  `% k, z2 S. Y7 kcaviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
     

The 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.
3 @7 K5 @" O1 e4 N! N她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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1 V! }4 j8 f/ j/ ?4 w& C! xAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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3 D9 O3 @; D- C. f5 g; g1 n
playing a harp before a Buffalo

* S& b& P& V$ Vplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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8 {: W; Z7 I7 P  g, Ntalk to a Brick wall
* p/ {6 l: B8 r4 e9 v1 E对牛弹琴

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( T) N# q% G, Z; ?. mTheir 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.
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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
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.

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7 s  }2 p4 ?! `+ C! u2 \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
4 C) Z: l( F' B' x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。
, ]7 }% ]) i0 G3 {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