go pear-shaped

短语

n. 比喻一件事情“未如原先预期”或“搞砸了”。

发音

UK /ɡəʊ ˈpɛəʃeɪpt/
AU
US /ɡoʊ ˈpɛɚʃeɪpt/

词形变化

goes pear-shaped 三单 going pear-shaped 现在分词 went pear-shaped 过去式 gone pear-shaped 过去式 gone pear-shaped 过去分词

别名

go pearshaped

释义与例句

v.
  1. 1.

    To go awry; to go wrong.

    爱尔兰 英国 习语 不及物

词源

Uncertain; the following etymologies have been suggested: * From the image of a solid rectangle “slipping down” into a pear shape, thus “the bottom drops out”. ** Similar thoughts about the work of either glassblowers or potters involve a theme of the work trending toward a sagging shape; such speculations may be only folk etymology. * From the image of a balloon or football losing its spherical shape after being punctured. * From an idea that people who shoulder the work — who have the responsibility on their shoulders — may descend into shirking, in which case their broad shoulders diminish as their body becomes pear-shaped. Apparently the term was originally Royal Air Force slang, but came into common use by the 1990s.

来源：wiktionary