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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and 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
6 }4 ?7 J* B/ ?+ ^/ r* x2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
1 ]+ i  H6 p7 J4 S  S, Y" ?1 : HOG CHOLERA
) k; Z+ N$ w- C4 e) Q2 : 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
& L" E6 @: g7 q  x' @9 ^1 O© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

4 v; l$ J3 z4 O8 |. ]! X( ^8 pThe 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
  X7 {; `$ b5 ?& LWith 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 p$ D0 g9 }' s# j
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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$ t4 M0 H8 f4 f$ ?8 b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  
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to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

' u! h' G  z' P; `: X+ s! d# A2 z/ Qto cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

/ M; I# L7 x# r0 oto talk over sb's head
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8 A) H$ B; B: ]
The whistle jigs to a milestone.

3 Z# y2 ~, j  d( m! z) NWith 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.
7 c6 y7 r( i3 [" W她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
! }9 U% f% A' y! B
" j4 ?$ k) y( O. N/ hAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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' k- m6 a! k, u' p( L$ {$ t( D playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


+ P7 {$ d3 v4 A6 a* Etalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴


Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
1 Z' }+ ]/ t& h" y; x- H' r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
% n- {% [/ y! l5 ]1 ?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.

" M+ n+ b8 z* J7 {) @1 h
; c! l% r5 ]& t0 P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。
( \" Y- W: d+ m. _) w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。
7 v- A8 I) I+ y' o  ?& T+ i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