play the lute to a cow—choose the wrong audience; preach to deaf ears; a sheer waste of breath; talk over people’s heads;whistle jigs to a milestone ? ～——何必～！ (楊沫《青春之歌》604) Sheer waste of breath—like casting pearls before swine…/“～” 當(dāng)然引不起小孩們的興趣。(李六如《六十年的變遷》Ⅰ—9) Just like “music played before an ox”this book naturally failed to interest the boys./“～”這句話，含有譏笑對(duì)象的意思。(《毛澤東選集》793) The saying “to play the lute to a cow”implies a gibe at the audience.
對(duì)牛彈琴dui niu tan qin
play the lute to a cow—address the wrong audience
對(duì)牛彈琴
play the lute to the cow; cast pearls before swine—address the wrong audience
對(duì)牛彈琴duì niú tán qín
比喻對(duì)蠢人說理，白費(fèi)口舌。cast(throw) Pearls before Swine, choose the wrong audience, play the harp to a cow, preach to deaf ears, talk over people’s heads