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。

3 f0 j: ]+ a1 t5 Yand 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
2 : a contemptible person
# g. T$ d/ C* n" N; p; b6 S8 P swine fever  
8 s* |7 L$ ^( t: b1 s" z( Q1 : 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
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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。
. j; P  m& s! j8 R/ R/ Apig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
  Y/ f3 c# r3 b! k7 S" Z7 D, Shog 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。
* {" i: ?' i) n6 C+ w) w' F% Kswine 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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# P( k, W( ~6 j8 K（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
' d2 g1 C  e% w  t5 s# f# p+ ]6 FWith 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  ...

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
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5 i) U% b$ n; B) ?7 Y0 ]to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general

( d. y: _* w6 \, ~) J6 A* p/ N- u8 ~to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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9 R9 O6 J* y/ U" x( E5 P: KThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
9 l! \. Z- g+ C0 n4 Q% k面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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  y: v8 v- }& s7 V( W3 a& _( C' X' T+ rShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
5 k2 v: Y2 x8 [她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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8 w6 {. M, q( GAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
9 U: {2 i( @2 m0 y: ~, g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
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.

' a4 U) c! n) H5 E1 j[ 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
8 t3 i+ K( D* J+ z6 z$ Q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.

3 x- b' i  h7 G) O2 r+ X& B
$ v9 M4 H. m$ Y. M) D" z1 R* T9 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
可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
3 [+ o/ K& W2 x/ T$ b' ^( {也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
. b6 B* G* v% }  ?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。
, |. `3 _5 U# u* ?" v: _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