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。

+ S1 _( g$ r0 x' ]! {% f7 c. Gand 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
2 : a contemptible person
2 D; d- D3 n$ Y) E3 E- q swine fever  
. n" H4 R' Q$ a1 G; M, A2 s) Y1 : HOG CHOLERA
/ p. A: g9 e9 N0 N2 : 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
2 s% Q6 n4 V9 X2 g6 U9 n3 d9 D© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

& X: a! `/ y% _+ o) z' ?" F6 ]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。
pig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
& |0 `( s4 R9 j: t: c/ n2 z3 W; Nhog 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。
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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（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
* [8 p2 d" n- {3 i. n9 YWith 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  ...

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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to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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to cast pearls before swine
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! m9 i2 }7 \9 \) lcaviar to the general
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to 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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: k7 }) D/ [7 _- L9 BWith 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
3 ?- j" E  c( ]) q  M" D对牛弹琴
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6 \0 _2 C. B( P* O: \
playing a harp before a Buffalo
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0 V+ @, j' W' G: L! aplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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* ^( z7 F3 s/ ]1 `8 c8 m4 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.

[ 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 |/ [9 j2 m9 S3 |可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
9 K: i. Z2 o/ u% U也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
  s  A" K$ k0 ?; f, R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