Editor's Corner

Good morning, language lovers!

Several months ago, one of you wrote in about the idiom “gone pear-shaped,” and explained how it was from pottery. The meaning of “gone pear-shaped” is that something has gone wrong. It makes sense that it might come from pottery. Goodness knows, I’ve tried to throw a pot, spun the wheel, and ended up with a mug that has a heavy bottom. (Or a vase that’s more of a weapon, or a bowl that is an inch thick at the bottom, with “walls” a quarter-inch thick. Yep, I am sold on “pear-shaped” as describing a situation that has turned out badly.)

I’ve heard people describe women as pear-shaped, in fact just the other day I was watching a show about medieval women’s clothes and the professor said that people considered pear-shaped sexy, so you want it to look like you’re packing heat in the back. (For your off-work time, if you are interested, this historian is hilarious: Eleanor Janega).

I didn’t want to offend anyone with the phrase “pear shaped,” though, so I thought I better check on the pottery comparison and where the phrase comes from.

I found that the actual history of the phrase is unclear. Here is what my searches turned up:

1. Aviation. From the Royal Air Force. [KC – This is the most popular explanation, but sources disagree about what represents a pear-shaped failure.] Pilots used “pear-shaped” to describe a poorly executed maneuver. Instead of flying in a smooth loop or roll, the pilot’s attempt was wonky. Others say it is from crashing the plane “nose first.”
2. Pottery. As described above. An item intended to be well-balanced and symmetrical ends lopsided and bottom-heavy.
3. Ballooning: Some believe it could be related to hot air balloons, where an improperly inflated balloon might resemble a pear shape and not function as intended.

From the Free Dictionary, here is a definition and some examples.

To fail or fall apart.

• The deal went pear-shaped because of disagreements over the distribution of royalties.
• Molly’s surprise party went pear-shaped after someone in the office accidentally told her about it.
• The event will definitely go pear-shaped if our chief donor backs out!

As for the origin, the pottery history gets my vote. I’ve lived it too many times over the years.

Kara Church | Technical Editor, Advisory | Technical Publications

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