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: K  P/ f! Nand 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  
1 : 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
! a- G4 x# u; h© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

, k2 M  d5 {5 h6 H" tThe 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。
% N  G& _$ x% V4 i% x3 o4 |* yhog 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!
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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
1 I$ U6 }3 j+ s6 ]$ s5 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。
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( x, _9 n# y5 B6 u9 Y) [and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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+ s: V( G. Y" k  Q/ U. ]  u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

to cast pearls before swine
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# E$ S, G3 F  K9 x* p9 K& k8 P9 P+ scaviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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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。
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5 a: [: q# N9 K+ G/ l. l- |  GShe 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。

4 |3 N$ M6 p" Y: D% V- x, SAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴
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- y# s, _9 Z( O, D5 K- u playing a harp before a Buffalo

play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
8 E) }" ]/ H$ l; Z对牛弹琴
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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.
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[ 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/ h* y4 J3 z3 ~$ z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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. u( Z. d/ m9 H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
  ^" x1 N; L6 ]' e( j可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
' x- e& Y" J( ~7 g7 F6 n也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
+ |* {3 \) @9 p8 V; D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