go pear-shaped
idiom
British, informal
: to go wrong
She was in debt, and when she lost her job it all went pear-shaped.
Examples of go pear-shaped in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Good communication is a no-brainer in any relationship, and Perks says the best approach is to start that boundary-setting conversation as early as possible — and definitely before things start to go pear-shaped.
—
Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2022
Some want a foreign bolt-hole for when things go pear-shaped in China.
—Jack Crowe, National Review, 21 Aug. 2020
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Los Angeles Times, 2 Aug. 2022
Some want a foreign bolt-hole for when things go pear-shaped in China.
—Jack Crowe, National Review, 21 Aug. 2020
Cite this Entry
“Go pear-shaped.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/go%20pear-shaped. Accessed 12 Jul. 2025.
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