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。

8 h% i6 V& r% B1 o9 Cand 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 O2 F; {, c# ?6 x2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
& J$ O$ B: L. R4 L" K1 : 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
1 }, @' d4 z6 }3 o. v$ d8 w
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。
. O% N6 {2 J% A* W4 x* zpig 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。
- G- G/ X7 _. g, [% ^swine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

* t; @/ O; X7 ^! m8 M（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 T& x9 _7 R3 N/ Z& L& t, F( x  sWith 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 |" w" I* O( d6 b; vand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

5 b; T/ z5 l: ~4 z- ?
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  
1 W2 B2 E: [7 \/ A( q* s- p" S" H
& C5 E! [1 v1 q  ]! N" l' h" {+ ?( T- Jto 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
3 P0 j# G2 U' ]4 O- n! M
0 Z3 a3 M/ `6 H# Y9 r* tto preach to deaf ears

% _' w/ \5 ^. N9 Y0 rto talk over sb's head
! U, O5 L7 ?- Y" I, G     
0 D2 x& G' D# k" N0 u" |/ P
: ^' k! l$ o" M2 y$ B; j2 ?The whistle jigs to a milestone.
. E/ P/ g" A( B
( P8 k( S; Q  O' _With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
( a0 J2 ^  a, L9 T9 t, \面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
4 L( a  h% \' j
$ P; I1 o& u% gShe 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。
/ ~. {3 a5 v( Z
: ^+ w  A: ]$ n* YAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
! W3 H' U% o6 n- e$ v' A对牛弹琴


4 {* z% e! w- w5 _ playing a harp before a Buffalo

9 y* _/ O5 {; Hplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

* \) u, d6 A/ N3 r# H  I  R5 [
- p. i' P! m( M% S; I  Gtalk to a Brick wall
/ U0 _& k% r, w4 n+ q! h对牛弹琴
" p+ @* j+ p; S- P4 q( o  M

# [4 Z" [# H- _6 oTheir 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.

) I1 u& z9 Q  x2 h) g/ c% |[ 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.

" _& l1 E# ^' ~9 y$ U1 u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。
也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
  i. N$ q6 M" Z% f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。
. w+ s* T$ ~, _1 K# U; }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