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。
$ G, u7 f, W; t& q8 X
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
: K% m5 Z$ S1 U9 l$ f. t1 : 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
3 X6 m5 E# @  _$ V. s2 : a contemptible person
3 v- d& P" G# o3 m/ \" n' { swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
: w9 _" @3 b+ z8 C2 : 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
& \+ e' E2 j" _5 F: y- W  Z. B© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

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。
pig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
( u3 ?) R4 ]: |/ @3 R6 _7 }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。
7 W  G9 i) O- @) ]+ {7 T8 Vswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

2 [% ~/ w: T' H) [7 P( N（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
: C8 R3 g5 o- I" ~; h7 X5 @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。

  I7 N4 Q. P  ]- J/ cand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

9 h- k6 @# N+ Q2 R- x% |& 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  

to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

/ R1 y) q! ?: U) Y3 Gto cast pearls before swine

, Q1 v) w* _! A5 [; I1 Wcaviar to the general
$ Q' B2 p3 ~; h1 ^# W/ M+ V3 B
* l5 V: R) E- l7 `to preach to deaf ears

# A0 U" n$ c% I: j+ b4 g8 uto talk over sb's head
; T& Q+ M0 G% t0 |     
+ M0 S+ F! q3 _0 ], o0 E) O. b
2 D  {& }9 ~( B. H: w! q$ |The whistle jigs to a milestone.

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。

* M3 @2 }' Z1 v- K) s) fShe 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
对牛弹琴


playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

# e' B5 |1 X" H4 R  {8 O8 i, Y
6 H' p+ z2 P6 Y% S8 ntalk to a Brick wall
& X1 {* w5 D* s: }对牛弹琴

8 K- J. Y' ]& G) `; x2 s) x
Their 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.

[ 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.

" k# ]2 O; q# s9 D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。
* B+ L: {# X6 t6 h% s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