pear-shaped

sadly wrong, awry (usually in past tense)

Everything was going well until the afternoon, then it all went pear-shaped.

pear-shaped by Alcyon April 26, 2005

Pear-shaped

Something that has gone pear-shaped has gone wrong: this is based on the visualisation of a plan being like a perfect circle. When something goes wrong, the plan is distorted and becomes pear-shaped.

It was all going well, then Jonno dropped the ball and it all went pear-shaped.

Pear-shaped by Wowbagger (the Infinitely Prolonged) June 11, 2003

Pear-shaped

very wrong, unrescuable.
'Pear-shaped' is an RAF euphemism for 'tits-up', which is itself a euphemism for 'dead'.
The Oxford dictionary definition cites an RAF source in 1983. I was an RAF pilot in 1983. The reason no-one will confirm the meaning officially is that it's rude, hence the rubbish about aerobatics. Loops that go wrong are egg-shaped, and have always been referred to as such.

Sorry chaps, tonight's session has gone pear-shaped. The bus is broken and 4 of the lads have been nabbed for night flying.

Pear-shaped by Al Beback September 1, 2012

pear shaped 

A British expression used to indicate that something has gone horribly wrong with a person's plans, most commonly in the phrase "It's all gone pear shaped." The origin is unclear, but one theory says that it is RAF slang relating to the difficulty of performing aerobatic loops, which were described as "pear shaped" if executed imperfectly.

"Howard Dean must have thought he was a shoo-in for the Democratic presidential nomination, but somehow in the primaries it all went pear shaped."

pear shaped by Mooseboy February 11, 2004

pear shaped 

A term meaning "to go to hell in handbasket" or "when the shit hits the fan." Reportedly of British or Cockney origin, from the Royal Air Force's description of circular flight paths gone awry, or "pear-shaped."

Also may relate to a popular French Revolution caricature of "citizen King" Louis-Philippe, drawn by Honore Daumier and Charles Philipon in 1832 as a jowly pear. The French term "poire," or pear, was slang for "fool" or "idiot" - and soon thereafter, all caricatures of the King were banned, pear-shaped or not.

"To say that it all goes pear-shaped is an under statement. The reactors go out of control and quickly the effort is not to save the plant, but to minimise the effects."

pear shaped by farkleberry July 7, 2004

pear shaped 

Quite often people's shapes, are compared to fruits, like pear, melon, or banana shaped.
The only shape that has no fruit connected to it is the hourglass shape.

Body parts like breasts can be compared to shapes too:
Melons (full and round), pear shaped (half full, most people have this), pointy (where the nipple sticks out), hangtits (hanging banana's), or flats (no tits)

Yeah, you have something there that men love! Just go for it, and have fun tonight!

pear shaped by Fukaface! December 18, 2010

pear shaped 

when the shit aint goin right

its gone all fuckin pear shaped!

pear shaped by A_Chair_In_Hell January 21, 2004