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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, g2 q% G5 _2 G4 I) _and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
: o$ D* ~' l+ U+ N; ?$ w+ V! u1 : 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
; Q" L- @$ Q  S swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
- x% n) h' N1 d) r7 \9 k3 l2 : 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。
pig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
5 w; c& u& |5 Chog 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
# Q' A, Q. j/ o2 s% w! eWith 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。

& X: D, l4 r. _$ C0 I) W$ mand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

5 \- Y9 B/ O' 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  

  r) V- l7 }2 a0 |to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
! U% e( E; q9 a2 d5 L  n/ e. t面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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; n" J+ u0 V( H: HShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
. A: G+ p. s3 n. ]% N她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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+ z) E! I' Z$ R0 N8 eAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
  Z! p) O+ O5 e/ H  y5 z对牛弹琴

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4 k( r; t) @6 B/ B- @5 x playing a harp before a Buffalo

! G: p0 d7 z3 b! pplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴

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( p, }( u6 f3 v2 x2 ~  F$ rTheir 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
/ m2 W3 I: `" z/ O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.

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2 [. P$ X+ L5 a. U! \/ R- M# I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
' W6 \4 ~/ v" K$ G. A& O* x- u: o- _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。
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