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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0 i1 F. I6 r$ w3 u/ w/ C5 Wand 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
7 M0 j; e; L- p3 O7 z& Q/ m swine fever  
5 W! A3 a! f5 X! c1 r+ [3 A9 X1 : HOG CHOLERA
3 r0 E; B( x1 A* S2 : 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
! v: r. Y+ {& A" i) {© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated

3 i( ?( h3 A. R% r$ }1 @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。
5 Y/ g: v# C0 v6 `5 o6 Lpig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
- @/ E! \: P9 c+ Zhog 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。
1 I: I8 m6 ?5 Eswine 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 S7 R- Q; \: }: R- l+ b4 g9 u. T6 T1 AWith 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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$ S/ I+ h; x7 [and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

4 h+ O* l/ `2 k* `
  _5 g) d6 t& M! J3 [' {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
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! g' r8 r5 X- J% o# rto 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
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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1 j* y2 v  e5 B' m( MWith 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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3 W# }7 f! f; |; m: E( w5 pShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
: _6 D  l+ c& m4 {& E, V9 C3 I! U0 t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
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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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) l0 V( ^) R8 ]+ Q" r' z, }Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
$ i5 g- K, f( O9 R他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

- n4 K& b2 P& }[ 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
2 G% n1 g$ m5 ?1 t- _, N4 }3 f! u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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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
1 _+ K0 c! t7 D$ `5 v- t可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
4 U- P# T; z& n* U& Z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。
, Q! `+ j: ?: E0 y; Y* R/ A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