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。

# a) b& v/ m6 O. J: `( eand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
3 e1 S0 y1 J6 v" n- w# Z. G$ T1 : 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
, Y( D- B& t; k4 p swine fever  
% ~& W1 S& C# k3 X3 |8 e$ X1 : HOG CHOLERA
, Y: M" }1 M# K2 : 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
- \5 [* V, T8 a( |© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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+ K# |# q; o; |5 J; e5 SThe 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。
$ G' M- C" ~, o! V. Y6 ]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。
) Q8 d! Z, N5 X6 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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（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
1 o6 `( U4 v* k2 LWith 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  ...

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7 x; m. h' W8 V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
( D3 ?3 @9 A6 `! u; _8 d. p
caviar to the general
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0 a- r4 r1 y  i# Kto preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
     
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
7 I3 N5 s4 ]! P0 A2 @6 i1 X面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
. {0 I' o3 M6 u* g3 n8 W, G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
8 P0 y1 U( c/ T1 ?" e对牛弹琴

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+ l+ _) t* F. H% @3 [# O5 v playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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6 |( R8 [1 z$ z, E/ J2 U
talk to a Brick wall
0 G" u/ T  b" ~3 S: y* a. h* G: R; h对牛弹琴
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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
& y' ~% N8 x# d+ b3 G9 t2 ^; v. p他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

6 {0 Y7 p/ ]  f0 _' ?2 l[ 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.

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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
# V! v# D  k* t/ `: r可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
- s$ |% b* k8 x  L' ^! S: v7 `7 C; y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。
) X- g" Z5 p: o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