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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3 @. L/ z. x5 L( k0 J2 q  yand 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
$ ?2 }; P/ y, [) @  |; ] 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
- r7 \! t! ]2 e7 J- e© 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。
: ?" N3 T& N! M7 G0 |pig 是常用词, 指“猪”、“小猪”、“猪肉”, 如: roast pig 烤猪肉。
hog 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!

& _1 ^8 y" [! s% g( v（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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( H( T, ?+ o) l9 Yand 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  

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
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to preach to deaf ears

to talk over sb's head
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7 v0 _2 i6 l: q/ Z' T3 L6 BThe whistle jigs to a milestone.

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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5 b( [$ I6 a8 T" ^$ Z& hShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
. B% X+ S" J9 x7 R) s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
& Y& d' Q3 k: x, @对牛弹琴

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- R( U: `; h" U( k8 W! K2 L: ]. J playing a harp before a Buffalo
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# s6 v0 H7 _3 U' O0 ^play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears
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talk to a Brick wall
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# [1 G4 a5 q& }6 B* tTheir 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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% F) u  l1 [" }8 X' }[ 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
/ D0 i4 Y2 `9 c+ [( H% g2 \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.

; {1 f1 o% r, D1 W/ c) T. V/ p. M
3 b3 c7 l8 ^+ L: T) ]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。
& x* @/ Y7 a% J+ r3 i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