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。

% \' K4 y7 O+ S+ R* Q2 f$ w- qand 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
2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
1 : 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
$ g1 o* [/ H" z( @6 ~2 f; H4 C! e© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
9 G3 E' e& S. j- P( O3 ]
- ^! X) G3 E4 q  Z( K3 U2 Y1 iThe 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。
  k  o/ z( r$ U6 D7 Upig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
! N, v/ t2 h& g0 rhog 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
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。
6 K/ v' G$ |  [  H- B
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

; v, W1 x5 C/ M0 L5 D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  

# Y: S& g2 ~. t7 I: [- v& _to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears
. u9 a( U# s$ U0 O2 r  p8 B4 l9 d# o$ Z
- u# g0 A5 G, h: u1 b$ F& g0 nto talk over sb's head
5 Z, q" N+ w! l2 ^$ ]7 z' l$ c     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.
" d5 a4 d& X8 n: }
0 E/ s- O. X5 P& RWith 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。
, x+ n) a' ]$ d" F
( l  l6 z4 I2 ]! R1 Y3 EShe 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。
3 K9 v! C2 I. c. k( ?2 F. g
An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
& v  g# |  b$ L! z) ]# V+ o6 d对牛弹琴

9 [3 N6 `3 U' s; v' n
playing a harp before a Buffalo
2 T0 |2 y, L8 r
3 v: ?5 }& D( W8 Tplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


* }3 u9 L+ M" u2 f2 z0 \2 }8 Italk to a Brick wall
0 [8 ?( z  i9 M' j9 c8 `对牛弹琴
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! P! G- e" @& ?% l( r% u
Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
% t, X3 m4 M2 g$ d; h5 z2 e他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

8 |6 a$ A/ ]7 [0 n8 Q2 |5 @[ 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
) r0 a9 l9 b/ t, G$ C* h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.

4 n$ i1 a9 I0 Q4 E% X0 P, k
* ~3 O- W0 R. N1 N6 `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 m- t8 h+ U) P% o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。
# `1 I) f" q& g2 x- M0 @, S9 B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