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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% a+ y7 i8 }$ w5 b4 ?7 e6 jand 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
swine fever  
: l, c6 G' X+ s4 c1 : HOG CHOLERA
7 X3 }( W+ e0 R4 ]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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% w8 B4 K4 f7 D( O) t2 G+ k3 uThe 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。
" Z  E0 h/ |# I8 a& e, C, p- ]7 \+ npig 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# n$ i1 W0 S6 B2 U- Aswine 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
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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6 @5 s3 q' K9 ~/ }: Z; }5 }: Dand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

: i) E7 I. Z, y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  

to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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& Y2 h) v5 [' i3 ?8 m8 yto cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general

0 d  v  H, q$ v1 h  a" L0 v9 ato preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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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。

' H9 X5 e9 ~1 BShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
* }% M7 r: u8 ]. H她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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, E4 M; u1 L/ J1 H' L. LAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴

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4 U1 ?& h* M/ v1 J! _. X" H1 R9 X playing a harp before a Buffalo
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2 [1 x  K) t/ M0 ?5 `) ?( dplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
; |6 p$ E9 i! s* v* Y3 d$ W对牛弹琴

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# t$ x' ]$ Q- d6 a" Q6 Y0 eTheir 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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) P4 K- Q1 ], ^' E! Z1 S  Y[ 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
: E/ x5 t' ^( U8 H2 B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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! l) m2 c1 E! [5 u- O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。
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。
: j. [, q8 Y! K: z3 z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