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.
& u/ A/ K/ q! X8 @$ a# X9 Q, v1 : 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
5 H0 v' ?  P$ E; U3 ~: _2 : a contemptible person
4 z" D4 e0 C* w, K( n0 V8 @ swine fever  
- B: [6 N1 a6 q% J( h1 X1 : 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

) ~) I3 o" A1 I' @$ QThe 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。
5 {# R# d) D# c2 m- bhog 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 G, e; |# }0 Tswine 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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（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。

4 s; B7 _. A& M' land from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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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% w: b9 o8 P" Hto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

' m" C* H1 H4 p  {9 l3 G1 |6 Zto cast pearls before swine
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) Q, s# m* y, z/ jcaviar to the general

: `; c. Q0 Y0 ]# gto preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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. {$ y/ u2 V! q# _. f" q6 O+ mWith 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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( @$ ?' L. g/ \+ c% @4 C: ~( i3 CShe 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。

: D; C1 C. h: I# z& ^7 q3 @; B. [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
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) a; S- Q" L" `5 T6 Q1 H' wplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

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talk to a Brick wall
  c: _8 P* u: E  N( J对牛弹琴


9 e, z" x6 H1 q7 N, x/ D# STheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
, N7 Q5 r/ H) }: b+ h+ `9 {他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
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[ 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
0 J, g& ~* h" ]) z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.

% p+ U* Y; P: r. Y' m
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。
- m5 J1 D& a( T+ ^1 z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。
5 S) n/ _. F3 B: L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