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.
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
/ ^7 S) R1 d/ q6 i3 K4 I2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
2 n2 O! b6 u4 Z: P) P- v; J1 : HOG CHOLERA
* Q0 f3 I: u# w$ ]3 ]3 J2 : 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
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* n) o! S1 Z0 m, c  l8 a9 \5 i" Z  LThe 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。
0 m/ _! ?" z& t& V3 {swine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

( i( ^4 g% S% R2 T$ E0 r（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 v4 G! }6 x0 ~5 G, {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  ...

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9 v2 y0 `: d% b% ^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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% Z2 {' r) |8 B" o6 g- p) S% M$ bto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine

8 T1 C+ ?9 \# s# {/ ncaviar to the general

5 m& `" \& |: p. Xto preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
     
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$ z) f: }# O+ n8 M: AThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

8 b8 z7 ~. ]$ s0 o- V% |% rWith 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.
* D9 e; t) I/ E0 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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' Y3 h$ c5 [0 ]1 ]" ?; R: j% \An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
; S8 i: Q2 Y" N3 S) u* a7 p2 t/ V对牛弹琴
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& t' z& K! o) E2 m* |0 w% ]Their 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
2 l  \! Z5 x' y% z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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& t8 B( L9 K- a/ w2 F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
7 b* R/ H1 U% f: W2 J4 j: k可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
1 M- S% }+ Z( t5 \% @2 O/ \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。
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