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.
5 L3 l% E/ X- D1 : 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  
# V' L3 W. F! ^% s4 p9 m1 : 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

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。
$ \2 l% ~' l6 I# v0 z) R2 dpig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
; A$ C* i+ P  E1 Zhog 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。
2 e0 F1 F. R( G# K. D9 \- aswine 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
1 `1 N& x; M- ~* Z3 I- f! JWith 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。

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

. p4 ]7 o1 w6 h# v$ V# k
  a! v% o+ g! u) Q3 U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  

1 F; G3 [! I  k8 O5 Y/ Q9 T, {3 Eto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

. J  r# e5 e/ i1 E- Uto talk over sb's head
     
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2 q; _! w5 y$ D0 [% LThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

' E2 G* z" [$ zWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
3 N, D' g) r! @( X; e0 p  \面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
" w' e! E& _' u( _
She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
' E2 F7 D! O; I4 J0 m, X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: F% j$ h. @+ T对牛弹琴


playing a harp before a Buffalo
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( f# h5 L2 _2 W1 S, M0 F8 Y( cplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
2 C" A  L3 m* H5 q) x* t: B5 T" o对牛弹琴
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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.

[ 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
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
- c( B2 Z7 d6 t8 C* l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。
, J; Z. w9 ^3 ]+ r. v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