Pear-shaped
| Pear | |
|---|---|
 A European pear, also known as the common pear. |
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Pear-shaped is a metaphorical term with several meanings, all in reference to the shape of a (European) pear, i.e. tapering towards the top.
Body shape[edit]
The comparison is more or less literal when the term is applied to people, where it means narrow at the shoulders and wide at the hips, a use that goes back to at least 1815, and one that can have either positive connotations (as in Venus figurines) or negative, depending upon the context.
Voice[edit]
In the 20th century, another, more abstract use of the term evolved. When said of someone's voice, "pear-shaped" means rich and sonorous. The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dates this use to 1925.
Failure[edit]
The third meaning is mostly limited[citation needed] to the United Kingdom, Ireland, South Africa and Australasia. It describes a situation that went awry, perhaps horribly so. A failed bank robbery, for example, could be said to have "gone pear-shaped". The origin for this use of the term is in dispute. The OED cites its origin as within the Royal Air Force as a cleaned-up alternative version of its phrase "tits-up" meaning completely broken or dead; as of 2003 the earliest citation there is a quote in the 1983 book Air War South Atlantic.[1]
Gallery[edit]
The pear-shaped fruit of the cashew
Pear-shaped jar from the Greek island Milos (formerly known as Melos)
Inflated party balloons
References[edit]
- ^ Jeffrey L. Ethell, Alfred Price (1983). Air War South Atlantic. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-99035-X.
External links[edit]
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Look up go pear-shaped in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Pear-shaped food. |
- OED's entry for the term (Internet Archive, May 4, 2010), Draft revision March 2003, part of a Wordhunt appeal
