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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, ]; i# j5 f8 Jand 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
! U+ V, b% X/ W. v$ O* F$ m1 @% h# v2 : a contemptible person
# r* X5 F: E/ E" z! H+ ^; { swine fever  
6 V' a7 T: w  Z5 l1 : HOG CHOLERA
7 u# c4 ~. `% L. M2 : 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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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。
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。
! x+ S! f! ^% z9 M5 ^* b4 Vswine 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
0 Y! ?' V" f! F! I9 n0 f. F/ OWith 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  ...

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

8 @/ G- o/ S8 c" {8 r/ e/ H& kto cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
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/ L* y( e/ X- H0 c$ l* y' @) [to preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
4 R  b4 v+ s; m9 w面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

: G3 S* X4 B. x- C  ^She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
9 U* n0 p3 P; B% B1 f( x她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴

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4 O; A* d% ^: F" R8 k 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
/ H) D) h. W. j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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3 C, J. |4 L0 a8 k: W7 D[ 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
: ]0 ]: h/ [5 `8 d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.

# D8 i! E7 |  f0 E0 Y" e# H) D! l0 d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 {; {- T, C# Z: a9 i3 D- Z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。
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。
% \  Z; H8 m+ }! o& _1 r8 i; }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