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.
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
: z: Y) r2 p3 M+ Z6 |% u2 : a contemptible person
" v8 a+ i! ~0 r/ N* d swine fever  
8 l' O8 w+ H! y2 G1 : HOG CHOLERA
* y; s$ A0 V1 p. |. o2 : 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

The 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。
6 n" S. Y( T9 E0 |$ }& d2 N& K; ^7 Opig 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。
- ?6 K1 r/ {8 v6 v) s0 iswine 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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# |& f3 b& m& i( ^（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。

7 ?( G- ?" T/ R  }# ?2 v, s: }4 Jand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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5 i- ?! i+ |2 n, w$ c1 I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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! J2 m, E. c9 o6 lto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

# N* E3 U+ U/ k2 s+ o* `- kto cast pearls before swine

" I* R1 W( l0 a3 scaviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

8 V; L8 e8 T! @( ]2 Kto talk over sb's head
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5 f* ?  e6 w3 c" C
The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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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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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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playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

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; z( D% `7 [5 K. n- ktalk to a Brick wall
2 S+ _1 s3 |; ]4 Q对牛弹琴

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0 J( w$ E' ?) N" |Their 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.
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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
; ~/ `  ]# o9 F2 w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.

+ r/ K6 t' Y: i/ b/ S
; B/ S  Y) W/ U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
( B" m) i# `' R0 j9 s: z可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
+ f" W- D' j2 x3 d$ x, g4 H9 o2 l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。
3 y% Z: ?5 v+ n4 l: x  f) s, r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