go pear-shaped

== English == === Etymology === Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested: From the image of a solid rectangle “slipping down” into a pear shape, thus “the bottom drops out”. Similar thoughts about the work of either glassblowers or potters involve a theme of the work trending toward a sagging shape; such speculations may be only folk etymology. From the image of a balloon or football losing its spherical shape after being punctured. From an idea that people who shoulder the work — who have the responsibility on their shoulders — may descend into shirking, in which case their broad shoulders diminish as their body becomes pear-shaped. Apparently the term was originally Royal Air Force slang, but came into common use by the 1990s. === Pronunciation === (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ɡəʊ ˈpɛəʃeɪpt/ (General American) IPA(key): /ɡoʊ ˈpɛɚʃeɪpt/ === Verb === go pear-shaped (third-person singular simple present goes pear-shaped, present participle going pear-shaped, simple past went pear-shaped, past participle gone pear-shaped) (intransitive, especially UK, Commonwealth, Ireland, idiomatic) To go awry; to go wrong. [from 1980s] Synonyms: go downhill, go down the toilet, (Cockney rhyming slang) go Pete Tong, go sideways, go to pot, (vulgar) go to shit, go to the dogs, turn pear-shaped Antonyms: see Thesaurus:prosper ==== Alternative forms ==== go pearshaped, go pear shaped ==== Related terms ==== pear-shaped play it pear-shaped ==== Translations ==== === References === === Further reading === Colin McIntosh, editor (2013), “go pear-shaped”, in Cambridge Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 4th edition, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire: Cambridge University Press, →ISBN, reproduced in the Cambridge English Dictionary website, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. “go pear-shaped”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present. “go pear-shaped”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. Michael Quinion (March 10, 2001), “Pear-shaped”, in World Wide Words.