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.
0 x- G3 d; g( b5 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
- k1 T% J8 @2 A6 P2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
( @$ N3 j1 F7 e5 k8 K- p1 : 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
3 v" o/ _& M1 [% y& `! A1 K© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

- e: J$ h$ B" M' Q0 S# h) c9 G5 s  rThe 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。
6 H4 T# e) F, |) k0 Y: Y2 Ohog 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。
* s+ ?) `3 J7 iswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

- O2 [+ h2 V3 M8 K, v( A' C! z! |/ Y. 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
+ l- B* G+ b' A+ [1 g+ I, AWith 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。

and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

- V- S' z; v6 b* f7 Y) m  [$ G  f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  

% g9 ?( y) p$ Y! a/ z1 K. uto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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" L- d% b) a+ O  ^8 M2 y/ l* U& [to cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
     
# i& ^: x) c6 |* d/ }
* f! A: }' N; o9 B8 R! ZThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
6 V8 }' ]4 u2 s8 [; x9 m. o6 t
5 _( |4 `  n3 g5 V: j4 f1 GWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
8 B7 |2 @7 p7 m- O; L面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

She 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。
  @& \' [4 |6 x. M" s9 u- y
. j) V3 e. Q" @. t; [An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
  E) M9 t  @6 }9 G/ o* W5 ~对牛弹琴
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8 ^  I6 {: w- z( ]8 I* ^
% c( i2 f' D9 {7 ]/ l3 G playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

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$ x0 c3 ^2 a$ g8 u4 btalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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$ F) p7 H, u  c# @+ xTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
5 W& X- v9 C0 j" t0 b他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

, v1 c5 ?. _% S$ P! ~[ 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.

% w" A+ N) @! u3 ]; G  ^( \
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。
5 z) r/ A# r; r% k2 K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。
6 q; K* t  g( o5 G( T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