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。

( `' f6 ~1 f4 oand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
, [7 r- w3 d7 W* b: r, a( _$ J5 I% j1 : 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
6 E+ h% T( o! ^, _0 j2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
' Y  a9 K, ?2 |$ E+ D1 : 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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. k9 ]  `! J# j/ \! f8 tThe 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。
% S8 e2 K$ X' u- {' uswine 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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, |1 M& g; K1 P( l& o1 R" Z6 ^（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
6 K! l0 D0 Q0 m* ]8 O% d) o# k* 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。

5 f! x  I9 u% x( H4 wand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

1 d3 L$ B9 a- k9 m! [( x5 w* `1 y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

to cast pearls before swine
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, j" m, O$ L, f1 ^2 B# hcaviar to the general
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1 S7 Z0 k  m' P2 K6 |: vto preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
5 l( _' l5 E9 c面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
: G2 I1 S) c# ?$ X6 H0 H$ q/ j# K. r( e
She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
. G* T+ C: S3 Y4 [她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。

) U* X' v4 [9 V0 D3 ~9 p0 _An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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, q6 X( L7 @7 p playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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# ]6 a$ W1 U! }& T! M) K% n& J3 g
! ]. g+ ?( o# T2 Vtalk to a Brick wall
- `- B/ v! Z. X' b5 F3 `% X对牛弹琴

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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
$ \6 A5 Q7 k1 S" a6 b* I9 x% W9 I; F他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

[ 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
( B3 X  e/ F! h" ~" O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.

% @+ ?" a" V" j: A) \' S" v
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。
9 v/ L/ |+ Q4 m9 Y/ [! c6 O6 p也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
9 J4 _9 {) G  G/ R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