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The phrase “pearls before swine” comes from the Sermon on the Mount, meaning not to waste good things on those who won’t appreciate them. Its meaning is debated, but it refers to giving great things to unworthy beings. The idiom is used to refer to someone who doesn’t appreciate the value of an object or person and implies that someone is uncultured or unworthy.
The term “pearls before swine” derives from the Sermon on the Mount, the famous speech given by Christ to his disciplines. It means that people shouldn’t waste pleasant or good things on people who won’t appreciate them. The meaning of this phrase in the Sermon on the Mount is a topic of much debate among religious authorities, with some people believing it simply means that Christians should only preach to receptive audiences, while others suspect it refers specifically to the Romans, and other theories abound as well.
However, “pearls before swine” is also sometimes seen as margaritas ante porcos, which means the same thing in Latin. Christ himself, of course, would have said it in Aramaic, and indeed some people believe that the “pearls” in this sentence may have been mistranslated from Aramaic, suggesting that Christ used a different word in this now famous saying. Since there has been talk of throwing pearls in front of pigs for two thousand years, a new translation is likely to meet with an icy reception.
In the time of Christ, pigs were considered unclean animals in the Jewish faith, so in one sense the term refers to giving great things to beings who are not worthy. It has also been pointed out that pearls would be essentially useless to pigs, as the term illustrates that it’s rather silly to give things away to people who can’t or won’t use them. Pigs are unlikely to realize the value of pearls when they see them, so throwing them at the pigs would really just be wasteful.
There are many ways to use this idiom, and it has become so widespread that comics, books, and songs have all been named after it. Many people use the term to refer to someone who doesn’t appreciate the value of an object or another person, as in, “George asked her out on a date, but it was like throwing pearls at pigs.” Some people also use this term in a resentful sense, suggesting that they have offered or given someone something superb, and ended up being snubbed.
This idiom is also used to imply that someone is uncultured or unworthy, with pigs being the large unwashed masses, while pearls are a superb and excellent offering. Many people attempting to implement social change find themselves frustrated with pearls before the pig phenomenon, struggling to understand why people reject their proposals and ideas when they deliver on so many promises.
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