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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- o; M6 m2 N5 [7 `. |- Band 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
: l- R6 b+ h  G swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
: ~* X/ ]* ^, ^2 @; b2 : 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
5 k1 h1 F- O- c* F( b/ n© 2005 Merriam-Webster, Incorporated
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$ i! I7 l$ \6 K. F, KThe 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。
2 E0 r9 b' O3 Spig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
- n8 |" X/ C6 {+ D9 T! nhog 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。
- ~$ s* G4 F* R% n% rswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

' n' u! H: I: v' q& E  R（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
, H1 v, ^% P1 |( y8 h3 JWith 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。

and from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

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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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# }3 {# p6 J) E3 h' ecaviar to the general
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to preach to deaf ears

' @" A( E8 n9 O4 Rto talk over sb's head
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3 Y. o1 ~. c* F- S; _7 {' j( i
: ^2 T8 y# d1 Y  C/ z# U+ JThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
/ _6 A3 g/ a% B面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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4 g- r0 h( t0 T) E4 N: ], j! @She read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
" l: n) T* G$ l$ f  d# E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


2 W4 Q, a: F6 U$ }+ P; v* z playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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& q  P4 L( H: y- P" ^% OTheir 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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6 W- q% ?9 o2 L9 s[ 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
0 f% j$ C; i/ E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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4 F0 m# j$ S. G6 |9 }! m7 J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
+ j! a6 ^0 k, p3 ]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。
* B1 y& R* i) I2 S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