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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1 F5 S  @4 F) f8 v8 O; }9 Eand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
# j/ D  S% X+ A) K8 \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
8 `6 Y4 Q  T: D  S. d2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
) T! |) p: i5 P. k6 q1 : 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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& w" S$ g3 n% f  R" uThe 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。
  Y+ d! L: R$ s+ {8 A: 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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- i; l2 y; o, Z0 j（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。

( F. Y+ K/ v1 w) ^and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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( k$ A6 q- e4 Q$ Y8 x: X8 M% B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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1 D3 ^8 _0 J  ?: J% g/ nto 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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2 F: H2 v+ E* O! C% cto preach to deaf ears

( r/ z/ ]3 n' j4 @5 R5 Gto talk over sb's head
     

1 T: Z. d6 V, ~. lThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
" I. a+ f) N7 K1 K; Q! \; \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.
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
6 Y) t) o2 i, \$ ^0 }对牛弹琴
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; o4 Z5 m, |9 v, t+ _' d playing a harp before a Buffalo
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3 Q- f# Z" p) B! O+ O' }play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

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7 F% C* O" @+ Gtalk to a Brick wall
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.
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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
- }6 B# Q' u! q4 _: q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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( x3 O; I. x4 ~- V* d; }# ~  N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。
也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
# Y9 z- K  Z5 \0 |$ `( i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。
0 `  ^2 v7 ~0 e2 G( l# N) q! T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