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theContratian sez: "This thread has really gone all pear-shaped." Adj. Out of shape, unorganised, wrong. Heard in the expression go pear-shaped. E.g."All our plans went pear-shaped after our funds were cut by the finance department." http://www.peevish.co.uk/slang/p.htmIt’s mainly a British expression. “It’s all gone pear-shaped”, one might say with head-shaking ruefulness, in reference to an activity or project that has gone badly awry or out of control. http://www.worldwidewords.org/qa/qa-pea2.htmIf something has gone pear shaped it means it has become a disaster. It might be preparing a dinner party or arranging a meeting, any of these things can go completely pear shaped. http://www.quad4x.net/yojinbo/slang.htmladj. If something has gone pear-shaped it means it's all gone rather wrong. Usually it's meant in a rather jovial sense, in a similar way to the American expression "out of kilter" or "off kilter". You might see it in contexts like "Well, I was supposed to have a civilised dinner with my mates but we had a few drinks and it all went a bit pear-shaped". You would not see it in contexts like "Well, she went in for the operation but the transplant organ's been rejected and the doctor says it's all gone a bit pear-shaped". http://english2american.com/dictionary/cat_misc.html"It went pear-shaped" is used in modern English to signify a comedic fiasco or similar disaster. In almost every circumstance, it refers to an undertaking or project that resulted in failure, but caused no grievous harm to anyone involved. Further, it provides a gentle suggestion that the fiasco was a result of nature and beyond the control of any specific individual. It is not regarded as vulgar or offensive. Despite its common usage, the origin of the phrase remains obscure. http://alt-usage-english.org/ucle/ucle9.html3. colloq. (chiefly Brit., orig. R.A.F. slang). to go (also turn) pear-shaped: to go (badly) wrong, to go awry. http://www.oed.com/bbcwordhunt/pear-shaped.html
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I've also heard it used (approvingly) of some young women's figures.
Bingley
Bingley
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used (approvingly) of some young women's figures
Or the tones produced by a good singer.
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I've also heard it used (approvingly) of some young women's figures.
You must be thinking of the bottom half of an hour glass figure, Bingley. :)
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It strikes me as odd that an expression would be used in both negative and positive ways -- what with pear-shaped figures and pear-shaped tones being good and pear-shaped other things being bad.
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pear-shaped figures ... being goodIn ordinary parlance, a "pear-shaped figure" is not "good", Father Steve. [But it is not necessarily a pejorative either. It is simply a description of a particular body type.] Let's look at a few female 'body models' of our times;
In the 50's we had Marilyn, with a voluptuous hourglass figure 37-23-36. Next came Twiggy, who was the exact opposite, with vital stats of, 32-22-32. The 80's bought us Cindy Crawford, and the 90's Kate Moss 33-23-35.
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Finding the pear-fect fit
If you have a pear shaped figure don't be alarmed. Although the styles of the clothing on the UK high street would suggest otherwise, you are actually in the majority, and all you have to really worry about is balancing the top half with the lower half of your body. Easier said than done given the choice on the high street? Let me enlighten you... http://www.uniquelywoman.co.uk/
women's_pear_shaped_figure_clothing.htmThere is also a discussion here about "vanity sizing" [which is new to me]. P.S. Snipurl.com isn't up today so I separated the url into 2 lines.
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Reading that thread, and noting the names -- some strange, some familiar -- was like a walk down Memory Lane, which, for me, at times, is a deserted street.
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Pooh-Bah
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Good god, but I've been around here a long time. How did that happen?
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Ann has been here since 5 January 2001 (the Eve of the Feast of the Epiphany). I have been here since 6 September 2000 (the Feast of Saint Magnus of Füssen). The boo boo occurred because I am too stupid to look things up through the search function ... but someone is always kind enough to point that out.
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