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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/ g% \5 ?. d9 T' ~, `1 Rand 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
4 r0 ^4 d8 r, z% T7 j5 x0 O. }2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
3 T) h+ R0 D$ g" Q. a! O2 : 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
) Q+ Z; O, E2 v% U  E8 m© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

9 i0 W7 ^: c6 K5 ?1 I$ h; T& u' |% PThe 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。
# A3 O' R0 V8 g/ zpig 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。
6 ]  @3 a5 n9 o2 z( Q" Z% Aswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

8 J/ T. X$ U0 {" d3 ^- \（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。

! G& j! {# G9 P* p# C! T- Sand 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  
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" _! r8 a) O* @2 {to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine
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3 Z' `% x) c4 i4 k( Pcaviar to the general
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( H; Q7 @) O; A9 M/ Pto preach to deaf ears

) v# |) f6 ]* K8 I: v( M2 Qto talk over sb's head
     
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$ ~4 N: _; m' d7 Y4 p1 VThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
: X' [: ^" {/ F& v! B' s9 J$ Y6 u
) o" q3 e+ X  d3 H1 j7 O# L5 nWith 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。

She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
5 p) `. x$ [( x  O8 ^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

7 Q4 y- G4 s0 N9 qplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


talk to a Brick wall
+ `" ]- R7 Y9 X& ^0 ?对牛弹琴
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8 }: {# {0 l* GTheir 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.
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3 v) b8 |; M( R[ 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.

% V% b& n) c  K- b  @0 P$ F# ^
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
4 g0 ]7 a$ f5 I5 _可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
6 ^  d+ E% S2 N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。
3 f; h( J, {, K  u) S- G" `4 L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