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。

( f  R  I. e* g0 E2 uand 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
swine fever  
1 : HOG CHOLERA
9 N3 J# j- U9 c# S% c/ C2 : 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
9 D0 x! c% J; }$ s# n3 [" n© 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。
/ `& ~6 O3 c) u2 K* M+ Uhog 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 D' O1 i& [: f( \swine 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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5 l& v2 w& l3 a5 P$ N1 O（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  ...

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; T& z: d! C$ M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  

5 F0 }( M% Z- ~# o, Jto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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# K  M  u7 I. a) M3 \to cast pearls before swine

3 `- c6 R8 m) L9 {5 X! |1 ?caviar to the general
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$ ?3 {+ U$ m5 M3 }4 V* O8 U: lto preach to deaf ears
, _( j  l1 P9 E6 c4 y/ ]( b
/ i1 N$ |( Z+ C0 A0 B8 Q( t' Gto talk over sb's head
     
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8 G1 R! Z$ s/ @* J$ x; bThe whistle jigs to a milestone.
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2 G" Y; e1 B- z: v, n! Y3 \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。
3 \3 i$ k- E3 y- E- p+ [7 A( `' V
- Y. J( L1 x5 rShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
+ ~, D$ p  c9 c% ?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
" h( Z( x9 C6 s- Y" N& t* p对牛弹琴
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6 P8 ^' M8 u! j. h! x. ? playing a harp before a Buffalo
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play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


; ~; t+ S. I8 l* J4 qtalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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( V) b+ i& T' GTheir 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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2 Y0 E. e8 d5 e3 ^[ 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
1 o( ~: Y* g9 K0 J  @) T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.

$ \% m4 l) e/ `& j- c% {% _
' T0 ^  [: T- M. n6 L, z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。
' a9 W# Q4 n( n& T5 x也有可能外国人不爱学习，学问高的不多。
! x0 p5 C+ B5 {8 P) Q: h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