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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, k7 O) S7 g! E) Zand 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
2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
6 p' m) \; Q% ~+ m9 u. ~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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7 ?3 w1 {4 a& f. P; h; T  VThe 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。
: y; C! k+ I1 K, 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。
4 f8 g3 Y# s7 A: v$ j' S: n/ zswine 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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（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
# R0 J% L& S+ j8 B; u( u( g  o% yWith 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。

8 R+ A, I9 G6 T( }: F% P  |$ M& u8 Band from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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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
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; f$ ]$ ]; p, P* `( I1 \- x( W9 vto cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears
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% F: q7 Z6 t7 ?- C* H) o# Zto talk over sb's head
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! p6 x4 `5 E3 ]  U3 m. Y; lThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

1 v3 n/ l) S9 Y6 VWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
6 |8 O* w* {: h8 X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.
, L) [# r! K9 M9 d( |4 ?她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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2 O# D+ u$ B3 J9 LAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
$ v+ ~9 H" K/ U: `- v* K- n对牛弹琴


' Z2 m; H; {3 Z# A% ~3 L playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴


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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[ 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
. s1 I7 D$ `* i7 P5 b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.

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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
3 y* [4 n' s1 ^$ }% f; \# \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。
& f8 F! X. T( }  q& s& F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