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.
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
& D& F$ ]1 l4 U" b" ^+ E! z" i2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
% d& J# ]1 `8 K$ f& r2 : 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

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。
3 \- m+ h+ |1 q! r6 U' f6 i( {. Opig 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 i% Q" R$ i, L" xswine 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
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  ...

/ z5 S+ P, B& d7 ?0 T+ h
9 D2 P, q0 B- G7 Q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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" |# \/ v" N3 l$ v8 Cto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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' Y7 ?& J& ~* U1 f* m; vto cast pearls before swine

$ K! X0 w' ~$ f) g3 x7 \) u6 H$ wcaviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears

0 N' H& x8 f! E5 ^to talk over sb's head
     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.

0 \8 f1 g; ~* V+ |- _) h& l4 _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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She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
  \: i5 n' K. Y6 E2 D+ d0 A, d$ E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
9 U% \7 D4 g1 n6 H4 x对牛弹琴
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( Z8 L2 T% E- H1 c: Y1 ^ playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


talk to a Brick wall
" R: X9 N& S" n( ?8 m" Z/ {- E3 J对牛弹琴


$ |5 y  p! M* w  _3 aTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
( C8 Y" {5 G" y. x4 g他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
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- ^; l- V' H- P8 m[ 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
7 \0 t/ S2 ]  u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.

' w3 F2 x0 @% a4 ]5 C, g; k
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 G9 V% q& \2 ^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。
/ `0 O& E/ c: c. r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。
, q: y# A$ f4 p  @- v4 F7 c1 e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