Meaning of turn pear-shaped | Babel Free

Definitions

Synonym of go pear-shaped (“to go awry; to go wrong”).

Examples

“With the heater going full blast, Sophie and I drive to the all-night garage, and for the price of a coffee I get her life story. Happy as a child, things turned pear-shaped as she entered her teens.”

“Unfortunately, a lot of the work we do is around trying to encourage leaders and staff in larger organisations to move away from a fear-based culture and one that is driven by 'I don't want to speak up in case I say the wrong thing' or 'what if I experiment with a new offering and it turns pear-shaped and I don't make my numbers?”

“He took a five-minute penalty for drafting on the bike and, while attempting to run his way back into the lead group, his stomach rebelled and he lost minutes and energy vomiting at the side of the road. "Things turned pear-shaped real quick there," the 37-year-old recalled.”

CEFR level