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Re: Archives on pear-shaped

Posted by Rudy on December 30, 2003

In Reply to: Re: Archives on pear-shaped posted by R. Berg on December 25, 2003

: : : : "When things go pear-shaped" apparently means something goes wrong or turns out in some unexpected way. Google has only a few hundred hits. Cecking several it seems to be used in many contexts; software, soccar and the spiritual life.

: : : : Any thoughts on when, where or why "when things go pear-shaped" originated.

The expression is indeed British. When I lived there, the blokes would say that a woman's body becomes "pear shaped" after marriage, meaning that as women age, their hips and lower body become bigger such that the woman's body resembles a pear. During courtship and prior to marriage, men were not expecting this transformation.