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.
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
  r* e! h) F+ n" p  A% _; b6 I' N2 : a contemptible person
0 a! X* B7 E2 m9 g swine fever  
+ Z# R( s+ _" f# w1 : 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
9 g8 k$ a) ?7 R7 h1 o; C© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

! J3 H4 ?% j! F& s9 V3 d/ lThe 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。
/ c7 a4 Z$ \$ J- _1 B1 c' p2 uhog 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。
5 G: P' \# |" E1 q0 n; N; {) j% rswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

7 f9 K+ b; p& g- ^2 f（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
3 G# ?; w/ g! SWith 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。

7 g) n5 t: I& S0 l3 y4 Xand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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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
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to cast pearls before swine
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: D$ K. X7 @. Y5 F* t+ ?caviar to the general
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" C& ^, ]" p7 Q# V  d9 \" ~to preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
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1 Q/ M4 v1 H9 ^& a  P" q; O% \The whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
/ v4 o5 o3 q  P面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

, |$ f: D( r8 P4 ]5 [2 R2 A; 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。

An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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playing a harp before a Buffalo

! R  ]) \3 N7 splay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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  I7 }# ]4 @$ b1 Dtalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
& |) i+ S: l' J' c" u& r' N+ q他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

/ M( l# P* y! J: ]* a! J4 @[ 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
4 [, v' b1 t  n/ K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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+ y9 E3 w- M3 J( q+ W7 Z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。
1 W8 v, {9 ?7 m; P$ I$ 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。
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