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 p+ \$ y, N1 x' c2 f0 \7 y8 Xand 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
  F; d0 [( ]' W, ^( \+ x swine fever  
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
© 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。
  Y" \' ^% U  D  A5 hpig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
% d% ?: B1 o$ ~) L0 Lhog 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。
' B5 m  o7 |; q2 J' v0 Tswine 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
) \5 }4 H6 k) p3 l4 ^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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9 B' k0 R: y$ ?- Tand 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  
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to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

2 t6 ^* }% ^! X$ tto cast pearls before swine
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7 [) b  t; [4 J9 c/ Tcaviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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  v; n: [, o  x2 DWith 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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) {% i5 _+ \8 k! pShe 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。

An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
% c) l! S7 k9 {; w% i, n; k1 D对牛弹琴
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3 D2 f9 l, |5 [: W0 _" I 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
对牛弹琴
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$ F0 I: o5 d0 ~0 H+ H; j- h. c3 bTheir 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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1 K0 f) c1 C. N% P% k[ 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.

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2 Y; f8 t% G: o+ l1 ]- i  w, U) \3 H$ 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
9 u5 x. y8 j2 e# O1 a) ?9 L6 W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。
0 X8 X; ~4 x" y8 }- C4 _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