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。

: _  ~1 Q- q% z* G2 pand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean pig.

billzhao

swine    n.
5 X4 Q9 B) f; W3 P+ t. `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
% {; Y' F9 l  x 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
© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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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。
0 U8 M3 y7 t! L3 }0 w1 ]pig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
( n/ |& }# W4 V, R: ^  fhog 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
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  ...

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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* }, E7 \9 E" s* O0 q& o9 gto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine
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) D) i( r* x) ?9 |- E1 Y* Acaviar to the general

( `1 j4 c+ ]  d0 E* s. Nto preach to deaf ears

2 N& d* r3 L7 A- L; Pto talk over sb's head
     

The whistle jigs to a milestone.
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9 S& c- }, v/ T1 M# w  PWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
, B7 f0 v5 ~2 D6 q面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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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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6 }. r& x2 F: I; VAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴

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playing a harp before a Buffalo
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# a' I! @# Y: q8 k3 @, h/ Xplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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. `9 Q: g6 {. n  l# {" N# S  [
Their hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
/ G3 ?3 l9 G$ y3 x3 O1 j- G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
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.

- ]0 o- I, P- \& `- k
- C5 d- h1 h/ x9 @. \/ ^$ x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。
/ n: S* F2 E+ w8 s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