# go pear-shaped

> English word · Verb · IPA /ɡəʊ ˈpɛəʃeɪpt/

## Definitions
1. To go awry; to go wrong.

## 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.

## Source
Compiled from Wiktionary via kaikki.org (CC BY-SA). Data vintage: 2026-05-06.
Canonical page: https://plainspell.com/en/word/go-pear-shaped