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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and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
7 T. o5 T" a) j& w1 : 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
& U1 J' g: _1 j2 : 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
& W1 y  p) r. N6 E© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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* W( G8 o/ ~% \& |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!
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# M& {5 c/ M/ s9 l$ t: _（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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3 g5 m$ r6 p% @3 _and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

* r/ g; |$ U' b, C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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1 Q+ H. e6 F4 g. P3 M- Rto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine
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! ^/ `# `# M  n+ F- F7 rcaviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears
8 ?& p( h( G) @) y- O# v- f
4 Q, S- J$ E* f2 ~6 wto talk over sb's head
     

* D7 P2 \0 P5 f* n: U4 w# ^The whistle jigs to a milestone.
5 {) b' }( `4 m$ F
With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
) b* Q8 z) Z) l" h/ y7 O% P: C. ?& r面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
( I4 P5 I5 G9 y4 s7 Z% K) d6 @6 v
She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
8 _* _+ Z+ u4 x; U7 C0 p+ H+ x/ x% S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
' O( R4 U; D1 F8 J; h( [对牛弹琴
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, M, U, K0 W1 G/ i( k2 H5 Q playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


6 P7 D$ y! _. j: `' Ztalk to a Brick wall
" m) w8 x( q, I对牛弹琴
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/ Y4 B$ X; I. P4 M6 B  JTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
$ Z/ y) F* I0 R$ G: c% f他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
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[ 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
4 L4 Y% h- n' a& l  w& s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.

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