Pear-shaped
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| Pear | |
|---|---|
A European pear, also known as the common pear. |
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,[1] 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.[1] The Oxford English Dictionary (OED) dates this use to 1925.
Failure[edit]
The third meaning is mostly limited to the United Kingdom,[1] also Ireland, South Africa and Australasia.[citation needed] It describes a situation that has gone 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[1] as a cleaned-up alternative version of its phrase "tits up" meaning completely broken or dead; as of 2018 the earliest citation is a quote in the 1983 book Air War South Atlantic.[2]
Gallery[edit]
The pear-shaped fruit of the cashew
Pear-shaped jar from the Greek island Milos (formerly known as Melos)
Inflated party balloons
A typical lightbulb
References[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. |
- ^ a b c d "pear-shaped". Oxford English Dictionary (Online ed.). Oxford University Press. (Subscription or participating institution membership required.)
- ^ Jeffrey L. Ethell, Alfred Price (1983). Air War South Atlantic. Sidgwick & Jackson. ISBN 0-283-99035-X.