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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9 X+ Y7 t' W5 \- G- ?. y* ~and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
9 o# y+ e( x, G& u! z1 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
" V4 m! z2 p0 Y  U3 g" M2 : a contemptible person
, B+ p) q0 @/ c$ c swine fever  
8 H3 Y) y) m+ |& m8 I( h; @- d1 : 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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8 b) n$ ~# i/ N6 |! bThe 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。
7 ^* t) {; Q: s4 W2 hswine 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
9 J' f: a8 a3 v5 c( aWith 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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* `, O  Z6 f& |$ ]8 [" fand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

4 [. A* o7 J- Y: Q0 r/ E: J0 V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  

to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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  ~5 p# y' X, J5 H! O* k' E5 hto 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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6 I- v1 ^* D# Y5 A5 h) [to talk over sb's head
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% D4 m: d* I( c: Y  x- OThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
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With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
0 }+ a+ c* @' n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.
她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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8 d; z" V4 s) w8 B( ^1 ]  q4 G$ z; vAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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2 U9 _% R4 |7 r5 I# ltalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴


! g# b& B8 G) _- I3 @8 a( VTheir 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
6 f! u2 Y  L5 y; V- o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.

5 ^8 }) o) u7 u4 r8 e3 m- w' {. p. q
# r" \1 ]2 C) q" C3 x' m, ?  @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。
! \# V0 N0 `4 @! u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