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.