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。

/ V+ r6 r; b; S2 M; Zand 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
8 B) h# _7 D3 y5 I2 : 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
4 y* U" e+ u0 k1 y( g) \( p© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

3 i" G3 G# g5 c. D  [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!
% B4 C; @* @% T9 w
7 H' P% w. r# L4 b( g9 @（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。
, d) t& t0 }$ S5 }  S% {
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

% Q' a9 p1 v. b2 K. \  ~' 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  

6 z8 t$ p" `8 K7 D9 p' @to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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" M/ ?$ a& M( Rto cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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6 p* C! n# N& n2 U& B
The whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
! _9 e7 L. o$ e* K  i9 I( v; b面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
/ h. i" g6 u; K* M' R# {
She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
3 {" W" j( \$ D) K6 N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
6 J+ t8 ?  Q9 z8 L! F2 x5 [4 ^对牛弹琴


playing a harp before a Buffalo
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6 ]. m/ y% V" N3 ^  Lplay 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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- e, e( }* @) e4 Q( @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
9 a* d4 M2 s% K8 i$ ~2 _% 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.

# [' h! r% b6 N% K
" A" E) ^# h' q/ e+ g! l+ D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
$ U7 S  `6 U, X8 \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。
/ C& l8 l. V( _; m5 X- V* U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。
& ]2 Q- m4 w/ X5 p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