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。

1 Z/ u+ \; I1 I+ T9 f" {" _, T* Band 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
" h3 J  ]8 N6 E3 ]4 O. Y2 : a contemptible person
  k5 s1 T& X, X. Q swine fever  
8 y2 h$ d0 R/ x6 W; F1 : 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

3 z7 O9 Y) C9 v, \. {) E6 p* vThe 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。
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。
$ j; D8 O* B# aswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!
# e& N0 h$ h7 I; h4 }
（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
/ p3 Z$ }8 M, h9 X6 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。

: O2 X1 Z$ U9 J  O) E, M- w" Aand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

: K. i% ]+ O+ O5 c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  

( @/ l, y  p  M4 @# t& Jto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
/ d0 w0 e1 d% l7 X6 }8 w( e
to cast pearls before swine
8 s5 c, ^) ~# {0 a0 p% I! F+ [) w
caviar to the general

' v4 p+ ^' @, t5 J9 B- sto preach to deaf ears

1 `8 K0 l1 Z7 l2 [- Hto talk over sb's head
     

- W2 ^; l+ |! _) pThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
" O2 E( b: j+ ]! G  m! m
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。

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。
: b% y: k% C0 d: r& T
9 A6 W, K8 F* f" ?0 j; LAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
$ o* G; `- ^# {* m9 J* |0 ~对牛弹琴

$ _% `1 u' g( R, V4 b
" e7 n1 ]$ z# _; X# O! m& a playing a harp before a Buffalo

/ F/ t5 J9 q" e) u* Oplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
& m3 J+ e: ]" l1 l0 M1 n( z

9 U5 v- T' P$ V$ G) T* M* Rtalk to a Brick wall
# t; b# _0 Q5 S对牛弹琴

; ]! l8 M* O9 r
1 A- e. \' k( o& z9 iTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
0 o9 H: n+ s7 i0 Q- i他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

- l/ r  B, K. n$ _; F8 m( t[ 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.

# E4 z- Q% [9 N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
; v) Q, p1 Z% ?4 e可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
' i8 \; s9 t1 F9 ]# J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