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。

1 i" p! g; @9 J) ~- ?  Tand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
1 a) Z$ Z+ c! U; v1 : 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
+ p, U2 \& D! p( P5 g/ a* w8 G2 : a contemptible person
9 \$ d8 e7 c. ^8 w1 a 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
© 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。
; _$ I5 L  y. f  Y1 I: Qpig 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。
, k& u6 \$ O& b* M0 a3 Lswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

" R/ i5 K6 v. L2 O0 m% N（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。
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and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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6 V: x. N4 g" Y" Y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

# d; @4 \' h" B  a! B" n! t: V1 Nto cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears
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6 _$ I" K% X3 g5 j% v) P6 xto talk over sb's head
     
- @' p4 @) c# _8 c) G: k, j& V1 \
The whistle jigs to a milestone.

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。

She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
9 p8 t. P- t" W5 _8 B8 l1 C2 V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
对牛弹琴
9 f# u; t. d& E

) H9 g* Y& m6 ^) o  W playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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! ~: X: P$ ]/ h& k6 a" K5 Utalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴


0 a9 n2 A, a' S+ sTheir 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
0 y2 g* u$ z! b% a; \: I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.

2 x+ ~+ f% a% q! d; G' Y3 z5 h# 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。
; N) M" t% x$ a1 V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。
. G" b" d  C* e& j' c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