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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% h$ W: V4 o) `% `4 [: }. }" uand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
% T6 x* Z9 J; M/ g$ _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
+ ^5 }# c+ ^( y5 Q7 E! `2 : a contemptible person
6 J/ l6 S) F3 }( B0 y swine fever  
  m4 l, o2 z1 h# j6 u1 : HOG CHOLERA
! C' k& l) C. G4 @6 B2 : 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
5 d9 y5 h+ I, ~% Y% O© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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6 p3 \( R' |9 JThe 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。
7 Q. Y0 _. I' k0 d0 q* P3 D/ Npig 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。
! X" A7 y4 U+ vswine 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。

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

) ~: t/ Z  \* }' u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

+ [; P- ~1 n5 o0 Bto cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general

! F. j0 o5 N/ Xto preach to deaf ears

% U6 r6 p0 ]$ }$ }4 _, Yto talk over sb's head
     
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5 E8 W$ M6 N! E+ qThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
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With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
8 h/ \$ c/ {5 S& \. d) C+ ?! w面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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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。
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An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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! i. [* {7 r' S. R4 ] playing a harp before a Buffalo

, ~; M7 Z. p/ H. }play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴


3 h( `& X3 M5 y. R$ o, LTheir 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.

) y" J- j6 T3 k[ 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.

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
5 i9 W2 H& a3 Z可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
) {- {4 [( E$ ]0 `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。
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