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。

( P8 {& b% z! k, v2 P, ?8 `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
  B8 H3 C- s& D: |* F2 : a contemptible person
swine fever  
: v" U" Y2 G9 `8 W/ {) X5 u4 D0 A3 u1 : HOG CHOLERA
4 ]" Z0 j  v+ f' ?8 y4 R& @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
- Q1 W( O: B! l$ E* b© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

) L% e9 `: U3 `) p+ O. `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。
" h* R% r! ?+ `0 K/ W9 U/ \( ?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。
: J9 Q' V4 p" B! ?; `+ Iswine 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。
8 K2 h" t3 B% B* _; O; G/ h6 _
and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

# w; I& Z( n$ Y+ O: ]" a9 N1 X/ G+ Z
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  
' Y1 ^' H: l$ j
to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine
* T2 p& {" h( f8 A7 _0 j
; }: L0 N1 Z1 s7 t4 Zcaviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
) Y) d+ Y' ]; U     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.

7 [( }  w5 b& P% v6 F+ e  IWith 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.
她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
' Z1 i4 Q" g, _/ I( n+ }, L
3 f  A' d$ c1 tAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
+ g8 ]2 \1 K' R对牛弹琴


/ K$ A4 _% M9 Z- Z. Y playing a harp before a Buffalo
, w% A( |1 T7 ~* z6 g1 J4 W
play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
0 D" V; H" `. T4 h

7 K& ?0 u; I; n1 Stalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴

( {3 a8 `5 m: ~
Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
/ w. m7 P/ _: b0 o. h/ }% ~4 u! R他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.
; z4 Z% }" A" [3 P& C
3 ^! z8 i& z; _' J3 A[ 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.

5 X( `2 I7 D8 H- s4 `2 `& S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。
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