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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  q5 p/ c! n9 V) f) sand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
8 A$ S  O& v* n8 W0 C' R2 B1 : 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
5 B6 \; ]+ `$ Y- M6 h2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
3 ~: b% \0 E' i; S, L& K2 : 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

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。
' M6 U; `4 N, f7 q/ L+ dhog 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。
9 }1 f3 Z9 p) Z. s1 s& 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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% s8 U# \9 a+ l1 _* n% s) u' l（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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# r. u, v* p" c' C7 u6 Yand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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  

6 v( J) d0 k' I2 P/ i5 F5 d3 kto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine

caviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears
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to talk over sb's head
     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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4 k" Z6 g  t8 g1 |! a6 vWith 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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' b- H& U% E3 ?+ o! h6 }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。
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An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴


% ~8 \/ G% n( f; W* w- V5 } 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
对牛弹琴
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Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
+ u$ p$ y- W% g0 l' s. y4 k4 E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
# i' Z6 N  }4 ~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.

% [/ F8 w) ^% w, @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
$ i4 E" U2 T: K+ d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。
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