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。
7 e( q, h3 H4 t$ }3 j0 f
' i1 g1 ?$ z* i% O+ Y2 Xand 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  
% D# l  ^! J' B1 |- B1 : 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
* u; s$ c& c& `© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

, p. l6 [" h4 p7 g$ A; yThe 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。
8 U8 q1 _/ `# ~6 \swine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!
* j1 p5 D$ k7 r9 Q0 h& _6 c
（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
* w( A% \: C% m2 eWith 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。
0 @$ T0 x1 N, c
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

9 V  W6 n1 l  z3 H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  
5 U% J. W* X3 D' i0 W$ {
to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
4 @, v* l4 v, b, k9 n1 M. \
to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears
) i: m# g! e  I
, L; r% G  m- b& [to talk over sb's head
     

. K* w' t8 S; @2 }9 RThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

; m6 X. t4 P! p, n" W3 SWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
. J; I- Q6 T$ e# L4 t面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

$ u  E' Y; W1 o. D( L2 hShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
5 A* t. S% y% r1 V- k( n她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
1 b/ h, I, a# k* Y; \( N" g
An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴


% e( E* D. L+ A/ R+ u playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

- T- R$ ]7 ^( I  n) X( o+ o
) [6 V- i& z0 n" m, Vtalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
8 `, O& G3 J( K: `" U
$ J0 _. k3 K5 u3 p/ y- K+ L
% m/ H4 ~$ l5 H/ S+ kTheir 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.
! e0 Z/ @& p) U# n3 l6 \' b
; [( s3 f; E/ I  {6 H[ 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.

; B5 _7 ]! n' q$ e3 H6 d  o1 M2 y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。
. {2 Z2 W7 n# J也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
% n5 {7 c: C3 O1 h. |) @- g# u0 m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。
6 t, S6 x. S+ Y: }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