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
% s# X: Y5 F2 }+ ?7 ^2 : a contemptible person
/ m3 ?: w( o: x" T% G! F swine fever  
% G! [/ N/ i( ~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
; M6 }; p/ J- j* D* c- q; Y© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

7 D5 x. Z+ F( s& C- nThe 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!
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（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
, P) \" Q) z! d) N% oWith 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。

1 Z' o" D) Z, L! i" kand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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$ H% O" U$ R# D) J3 G* K: u( T, O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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! F7 {& }: s/ K" Q  {  sto cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general

: L) ?4 |( C1 kto preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.

( D' f; n; D& j) o' v  UWith 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。

/ E$ B9 s' n  l8 Q& \" L0 _She 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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An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
- Y4 ?& S# S" I  ], w6 ^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
5 R7 T! Z: t' I8 [( 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.

3 g5 \: S. Y( A; V) a5 M6 g' w) C[ 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
& u" I7 z9 ]$ _( o- Q5 n1 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.

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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
) K) m; Z5 D4 Q% m: q可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
% X2 Q2 f% x4 m! B; P* g也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
5 t) _6 M- I- r: f3 ]* t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