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.
0 `3 V) a) F# t& V1 : 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
8 K  X1 R2 x9 W. {% q. C2 : a contemptible person
7 e; R) o7 k: V  n! H  }0 C swine fever  
" ~, x9 M" g0 S, O4 ]  ^/ _1 : HOG CHOLERA
0 i/ G8 Y7 G5 R* P( ^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

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。
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!

（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
5 u8 v" {" k9 @5 g2 ^1 p8 eWith 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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6 T2 L) I& ^" S) P' g. Mand 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  

8 o* {7 O5 z2 Q0 z2 h. gto play the lute to a cow ：  offering a treat to a unappreciative audience
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/ O: n4 c7 f* v& U2 m  g% vto 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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The whistle jigs to a milestone.

& l- Y* C5 l7 l1 zWith this customer, he felt himself, as it were, casting pearls before swine.
. y6 K' p0 a" q% U8 o面对这个客商，他感到好像是在对牛弹琴。

8 q4 Q: |1 u1 |( mShe read them Shakespeare, but it was casting pearls before swine.
. S- ]2 |/ {- ?+ k% J* R她为他们朗诵莎士比亚著作，但那等于对牛弹琴。
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9 U" [. ~$ v# q; p. m' bAn nod is as good as a wink to a Blind horse
# F; [1 ?' Z3 ]& L$ E, c2 `( ?& l: U对牛弹琴


playing a harp before a Buffalo
8 b: U  p6 B9 v, m3 o+ g
play the lute to a cow; preach to deaf ears


4 y! w! G& g: y8 ?) Z* ~/ Etalk to a Brick wall
对牛弹琴
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6 ^7 }+ W$ X; K2 }4 G8 e$ YTheir hints about his behaviour were water off a duck's back.
" _) B9 M# \) `* i2 F他们示意他举止不当, 如同对牛弹琴.

( f1 M  a7 o- K1 c1 j  q3 N7 p[ 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.

+ @. _+ Z5 z, F8 |2 r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
% d! C7 `; o' @- h1 p: E) W! N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。
6 `& v8 [. \7 V7 h8 i) ?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。
% k' w3 ?! X- t: y9 d8 i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