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。

' `. S6 x  M2 o' Z6 Aand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
0 w3 p8 i$ U( @8 U, [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
) e" S' ?) y9 y3 ?' `* H; g2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
7 [, Y& n1 D$ W2 : 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
8 F" J" O0 \! y/ c8 \© 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。
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。
swine 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
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。
+ `' b' V( J# x- ~
# u/ E( b7 }, T1 P' \and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

7 c( A0 [! D4 ]) O
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  

2 A: e% p' ~# @& s: }to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

" k+ o4 W7 J6 H. sto cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
4 m, D5 W6 x. I, y0 W: H
to preach to deaf ears
; j6 b& e8 ^! y* v) u# I% F8 q* o
to talk over sb's head
     
* F4 N0 Y" K6 r; @1 t& }
' J( I' l; J# G: r. eThe 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。
9 D! T1 g! k' F9 k2 ~- X7 e
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。

An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
0 w4 V2 s' P7 ]% P8 E/ v% p对牛弹琴


9 v2 a" J- S% U: Y6 P playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
* [# e" p/ q  U: A

talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴

) o# ?: B7 o: ]$ H' |  D
, t: H8 Q1 n: f' p( ^/ xTheir 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.
$ f6 `  F6 E* D+ X/ U
[ 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.

6 O1 F! N0 ^* n8 O% G7 y
9 X1 d& z: D* o2 y9 a: x# 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
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。
! ]% [6 W, ?5 _0 O0 g) U. ~6 ^7 ~3 r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