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。

6 c3 j; x% u" s( i( g) Rand 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  
! R6 u1 \1 H- g2 D4 {2 h3 n, s1 : 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
" a0 L" ~! [" Z3 ^# Q+ I1 ?8 O0 T: j$ r© 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。
' e+ G: L; p! Upig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
8 G2 P- V9 l% |4 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。
  b! T+ n2 m( R4 I" u1 |  Cswine 是文学用语, 指“猪”, 有时借喻“讨厌的人”, 如: You swine! 你这个猪猡!

- b, \% X/ s4 M（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。

* U0 z! Z9 d) c6 M- Gand from the above sentence, it even doesn't mean  ...

% [: B( K$ x: x
# N# n' p9 g, q- p2 O' `) b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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to play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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8 C+ M% _7 k0 i+ [" t% rto cast pearls before swine
! z+ P; x& y$ z2 U" q$ i
* r- {% L* G# Pcaviar to the general
8 b. x; N7 `7 C! F. d
to preach to deaf ears
( }7 |# b# W! H4 U; o2 P
to talk over sb's head
     
5 h+ J1 E3 W! ^% n
8 }2 l  M3 @0 DThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

With this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
$ W# ^/ C, `: }& s# P% E, u- a面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

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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An nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
对牛弹琴

' ?; m  w- a& l2 i5 }+ G% W
' j  E; S8 H" B( z2 B) C# P playing a harp before a Buffalo
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) H* }0 X; T3 jplay the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
2 D1 _3 O& L+ T  e* a9 Y( a, G

8 ]! {' o( ?1 Y9 l) }; l! \talk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴

9 p" \* y% @7 E' Y% T5 {
Their 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.

[ 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.

; L6 b9 N% a. @( b, F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
3 F6 h: @$ n0 m' J, g. L可能这种说法太书面语了，也可能out of date了。
! K% `. l" _" T) \2 t- k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