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

billzhao

swine    n.
8 d1 c. d' L& \3 T1 : 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
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。
% z2 m) R, _6 m  x+ Opig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
/ t3 c  ^+ ^, ^; t/ u! w- Chog 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!
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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
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  ...

+ b1 o# y- L( o% s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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4 A( G+ p6 r9 X0 @to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience

to cast pearls before swine
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caviar to the general

to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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The whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
5 T5 @. I+ ~' ?4 {; T8 M& o面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。
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+ w1 U9 o3 t& s6 r# S9 q2 p' y- yShe 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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8 y% m5 h% s- Z( xAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
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playing a harp before a Buffalo

! T% e! R3 k7 I( x7 Uplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears

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! n9 p" h  K+ M" O5 t7 {talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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5 E+ G" k$ ^# O% W, R6 FTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
) F. c3 J  s8 Y5 K6 C- k) I: F他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

; U  o9 c1 ?: f$ w# q/ T[ 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.

( s" _: t; t$ j8 @4 b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
: N5 m* k1 a# A% s可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
/ Z. t% ^, C5 P+ k8 z0 _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。
& D" A6 K2 T' Y5 Y! N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