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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& Y& g: ~) t  X& U* Qand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
6 z+ j# m$ P$ z1 : 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
8 z) k: X. h2 m; Y- M swine fever  
4 K! N- z' R! m7 }1 : HOG CHOLERA
" K: I" x) B7 k( U& D2 : 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。
5 K8 u9 }1 ^$ Rpig 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。
* H2 x2 M$ p; i/ Mswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

（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
# q" n2 D7 q  [: t* o; ~; hWith 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 y2 x2 M; E4 h/ e1 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  

( A9 t" ~5 r% F7 z, nto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

" i4 [4 C4 t% F' B# y, Qto cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general
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- F  \; [$ `. e( @' I5 Ito preach to deaf ears
2 V3 K6 y8 w6 H
to talk over sb's head
     

. X! q/ c& v# K6 ]( z! ]The whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
* G4 U% t8 p$ r4 G, ?面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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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。

An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴


playing a harp before a Buffalo

5 }- ~$ l: y2 _* E3 L8 ]- v$ A) oplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

3 s" c. @  e+ I5 b2 `
9 ], C  j# G' E9 ctalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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. L6 o- u1 p; Q" \6 `  y3 p5 E5 \
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.
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7 y' L3 n) X7 J& \8 x" Q* H: 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
+ M! |  R5 O3 h! J! S- f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.

# P& U# D# m+ S' H0 S
0 j* V, A8 |6 B0 O2 g! s- h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。
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。
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