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。

& C2 b: _5 T3 f+ q6 Yand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
6 s* b4 a( L7 K8 Z5 i, S) P6 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
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
) _& k9 H6 p3 ^" Y© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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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。
7 X4 M8 |9 g6 {' K4 ?& l, a2 _5 Gpig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
+ Y% f/ a. g! C2 X+ o! J; e8 ahog 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。
" O, _, m8 B2 O/ o6 N3 w+ jswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

4 q; @0 \6 @( O5 y0 p( v# E5 f（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
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。
% S7 B( R% w& p8 n
7 \# y+ C: h7 M5 s" Nand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

: |+ s6 o0 o% r, O4 L) q) P* Q; X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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to cast pearls before swine

. B5 d( p; C+ w4 rcaviar to the general
# `* ~6 c: v) E1 u: {; Y! x3 h4 w
/ u- Y& f- T. L/ J/ ^* ^8 Hto preach to deaf ears
/ m2 i# t# j+ x) e
to talk over sb's head
5 [1 a' U8 G3 K" ]% ]. n9 e     

. X$ M0 ~7 i- l7 yThe 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。

, K2 Q: B8 P6 k2 I! `& T! mShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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# p" H; D7 m: j- t6 ]7 zAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
! v/ n/ g' ]0 T0 |对牛弹琴
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  }! ~7 Y/ D8 c5 V3 ~- V playing a harp before a Buffalo

- P, }& n. j8 U& h, Rplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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7 b- _& V/ T. Y3 A/ I$ ptalk to a Brick wall
* I# o! h/ ^! o7 [! D" D对牛弹琴

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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.

[ 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.

* i4 z: t& d8 ?$ l) P# h$ ]
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
3 q" I9 K# d0 w可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
& S8 O2 K5 ^4 I+ j9 s, M也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
: _4 i6 U  S: u2 r. ^7 ?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。
8 x3 j! I! c6 C, k4 _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