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。

3 @1 b9 u. R4 e4 Sand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
. N. [$ _+ H- [# M1 : 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  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
' ]3 X& }; g* D) [9 ~+ R2 : 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
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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。
1 P: {" S( }$ g. Lpig 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。
# r# l( T! w: v( K) a4 O  `swine 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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* r& a. U" @6 u) [/ h+ z（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
- b: Q/ R# w, v# z0 C) m( g. TWith 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。

: e" D! y& W7 E( L  fand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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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
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to cast pearls before swine

  `# v. }+ \& X! @caviar to the general

4 Q3 x& x7 O3 \+ wto preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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2 j; M3 R% r# x. [The whistle jigs to a milestone.

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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6 ]+ [+ G* l/ q  m5 c3 lShe 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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" C; N9 }9 o& S) EAn 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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% v* h$ X+ Y, l- q/ Otalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴

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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
$ Z4 }3 q5 }6 K7 k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
/ [1 Z* K7 _  k8 s, X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.

- U: P; Z0 S" @3 ?& _5 R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。
" `. }* z0 U" c1 Y1 b  a& n也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
- t5 b5 G- A% w! x. u  a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。
" `* H" @' V" V5 m5 g: a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