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.
$ s( B* R8 ], |! t; T0 c8 X1 : 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  
: V. m" t: E) }) e8 G1 : HOG CHOLERA
( [4 ~  _6 I) S+ \7 ?9 I3 v: 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

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。
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。
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
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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  b5 w4 z, [) I( Z: _and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

. l9 [1 d/ h3 W2 \* 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  

- h* i6 |- }, `/ qto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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to cast pearls before swine

9 _& X# b  K" T! ?. v1 dcaviar to the general
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* J( k0 A5 A  f! V  v$ h6 ato preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
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) o1 s5 A: G: `, y& m& hThe 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.
" {/ i* C8 v) {7 W( T* a- O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
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playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


; j/ c7 i. G6 N' [' b! M$ ^4 Mtalk to a Brick wall
" _7 p3 e" k& |5 l1 ?3 O; `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.

# d7 h# E0 a2 c  n! r2 R3 k[ 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
6 v" o4 C: [# S& b' f3 k' T) e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.

6 c9 x  y  O8 c! ?
6 c' I0 H5 b% g7 S( _* s. b/ l+ |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
% n  N' D9 f- r/ L5 J; }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。
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。
9 @% L" Z' W. \. c. h1 `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