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.
7 @, [/ z3 u: S4 Z1 : 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
" f1 a7 `3 d; E6 e  u0 x8 |& k9 I, `2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
6 e0 l8 s8 B3 V! r4 N! s( g. O* x, M0 }1 : HOG CHOLERA
2 : 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
/ M4 a; f5 g' ?. u& K( O© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

" l% }* Y9 A, ?% G0 K9 @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。
" C, H1 n! p/ j( {/ Gpig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
- G4 f; Y, W* `2 |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。
swine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

（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。

! e0 p8 E; ]0 B9 z( fand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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2 L( d! f+ [7 t9 s; W: a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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& L" c* Y! V+ `8 P7 S) W  xto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine
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$ S" l6 l1 T+ g# g) K7 j: dcaviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

+ a! h* P+ a/ u; t3 O4 K" Nto talk over sb's head
     
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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0 A) O1 ]0 q" P% P" t, l/ rWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
) s7 _5 P: v- h4 `8 T+ [4 z8 O  }面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
& F; @+ k% A: D- v2 |5 S# v
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。

) J, P& W- C/ vAn 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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talk to a Brick wall
& z/ G3 e3 F- O! w- c  f; t" d对牛弹琴


! u1 p6 G$ c" fTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
1 \% H; @+ @  i- e他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

- o8 L& Y" T/ S4 R5 h8 x8 u6 I[ 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.

5 Q  F2 @7 ^) u7 {8 f* \; g! C
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 z$ o) c0 R4 W可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
! e1 @$ `- Z- M; 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。
6 X  {+ P2 j0 N  [1 k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