adjective
From Latin pyrum ("pear") and forma ("form, figure, or shape"), pyriform rather literally means pear-shaped. In Commonwealth English, this idiom (of uncertain origin, but perchance from the RAF) refers to a failure, whether catastrophic or piddling. Hence, when a situation or event goes pyriform, things are looking altogether wonky.
From Latin pyrum ("pear") and forma ("form, figure, or shape"), pyriform rather literally means pear-shaped. In Commonwealth English, this idiom (of uncertain origin, but perchance from the RAF) refers to a failure, whether catastrophic or piddling. Hence, when a situation or event goes pyriform, things are looking altogether wonky.
My life has gone utterly pyriform. I've been sacked, I've wrecked my motorcycle, and, despite having broken my pelvis in the aforementioned crash, I've managed to get pregnant by some itinerant wastrel. Curse my pyriform build, which is so amenable to child-bearing and its antecedent activity!
There's something pyriform—and not just visually or figurally—about that prize-winning Izumo Nankin goldfish bobbing belly-up in its tank.
There's something pyriform—and not just visually or figurally—about that prize-winning Izumo Nankin goldfish bobbing belly-up in its tank.
by DrSJohnson February 20, 2020