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.
& E+ D( [- i) @; g0 f1 : 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
  A7 d: c- D1 G swine fever  
" U! d5 }: w1 W6 Q1 h1 : HOG CHOLERA
% [1 U+ y$ n4 Z& U$ c; T2 : 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
! c4 Y0 S+ Y! b  Y© 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。
; w6 f& e1 L5 `! z! I: ~pig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
. ?$ h0 ]4 z) S, Y* B* ?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。
swine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

. H+ a* u. {5 J# S" z! o% ], n9 q（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。
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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  
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to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

! @2 B- q+ N  _  _7 A; qto 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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to talk over sb's head
     
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7 J3 z, C$ |: q0 WThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
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' G0 I' f$ f! b$ [% L* _With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
4 E$ s# @$ `6 {: ?2 r8 _1 y面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

/ F) O  }$ g) w$ O9 @4 F3 E% Z) bShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
5 k6 p  _0 |  j9 v- u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


# b9 X4 }. y$ b, g! y playing a harp before a Buffalo

. h# E9 _: Y# I% }& _" `play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
! ?8 h+ {! O: M9 Y他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
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& X3 S4 B, n- L8 H  a. a9 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
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.

6 L6 ^' x% x+ Z* a1 Q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。
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