pearls before swine

English

Etymology

See cast pearls before swine.

Noun

pearls before swine pl (plural only)

1. (idiomatic) Something of value, beauty, refinement, or wisdom left to people who will not appreciate it.

   Your lecture deserved a much better reception than it got. Pearls before swine!

Usage notes

• Often used by itself as an interjection to assert that the subject at hand is being or will be treated this way.

Synonyms

• caviar to the general

Translations

something valuable left to unappreciating people — see also cast pearls before swine

• Finnish: helmiä sioille
• Hebrew: נזם זהב באף חזיר (he) (nezem zahav be'af ħazīr)
• Hungarian: disznók elé szórt/vetett/dobott gyöngy
• Japanese: 猫に小判 (ja) (neko ni koban), 豚に真珠 (ja) (buta ni shinju)