pear-shaped

Since I'm going away for the weekend I thought I'd leave you with another vocabulary lesson to hold you over. Have you ever heard someone say that something went "pear-shaped." Probably not.

To go pear-shaped means to go awry. "What is the origin?" you may ask. Good question. It seems to be like all the other British slang I've looked up - there is no clear origin. According to Wikipedia it probably originated in the Royal Air Force when referring to aerial maneuvers, such as loops, that end up distorted. However, it also provides a few other theories including normal distribution curves and balloons...