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。

! Y8 ?& g# C# S3 |# A6 S: |and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
6 F6 _/ k! ?. U8 U2 C% h7 A1 : 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
  u  O) S( S4 j2 : a contemptible person
+ @" J; d! K& a swine fever  
/ n, a1 a0 j  J/ P" X$ V# 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

, |4 G- R7 f2 `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。
$ H' _; X2 h# ?! K& Vpig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
, W6 q* k  a. V+ B9 khog 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!

（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
; a/ }- g) H4 TWith 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。

) W6 E' T' z. E* kand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

; `# a  X4 {& ]9 E4 i0 @7 Y' y
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  
, B: ~7 j3 ~) Y& r2 q2 x
to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
+ T1 u" S/ V4 J' H
0 w2 j5 `0 S, m* Oto preach to deaf ears
* N* y) a. c( `! z  D
5 U# v9 Z" \. M! X0 {to talk over sb's head
     

! J8 T6 t5 p8 h' M% ~4 ~5 ~. b9 tThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
9 U) G. R$ D+ C, A: o
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。

! t% \: f9 Q9 |; I7 I4 zShe 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。

5 W8 I7 R) g. y8 y% ?( E4 x8 KAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
2 n9 @/ U9 N) h: @对牛弹琴


playing a harp before a Buffalo

: x; g( L# o4 K- \1 U9 `play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴


6 i) T' p0 L; Z7 p% {* RTheir 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.

- R0 W& H, q9 h# y2 C2 @( E[ 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
' y8 h& @9 F1 \2 l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.

. R8 W5 p1 w! `5 L/ i
# v/ a$ y, S1 d) v# B& w! _1 N0 h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
8 C6 g) w# e# Y4 O$ D" z) c5 {) K可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
+ _; _& S6 B! B也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
+ `8 x; ~2 Y' B5 H) a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