Re: Documenting the origins of "pear-shaped"

On Fri, 30 Sep 2005 13:01:49 +0100, "Shaun aRe"
<shaun_are@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>
>"The Other Fran" <fran_beta@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>news:1127862944.719706.214820@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
>> Today on "Newsradio" (Sydney) in Kel Richards' "Wordwatch" segment, the
>> subject of the origins of pear-shaped (meaning "going awry") was
>> raised.
>>
>> Beforee posting, I did a quick search of these groups but while many
>> plausible theories were advanced (the results of imperfect glass
>> blowing techniques, drilling rivet holes off-centre, the shape of
>> post-menopausal women, or simply non-regular circles) none of these had
>> any documentary support.
>>
>> {I'd always assumed it described the deformation of party balloons as
>> the plastic deteriorated)
>>
>> Anyhow ...
>>
>> Richards, relying on the OED reference, cited it as an RAF term, based
>> on the view that when performing aerobatic manoeuvres, perfect circles
>> are nearly impossible to achieve, and flight instructors would describe
>> the actual results as "pear-shaped".
>>
>> The following reference is the earliest I could find:
>>
>> *pear-shaped.
>>
>> * Applied to something gone out of kilter,
>> wrong, out of control, as, when thunderstorms upset the
>> flying display at Duxford air show, 17 Jun. 1984, the
>> commentator apologised that the programme had 'gone all
>> pear-shaped'. (Barbara Huston.) A collapse from the
>> perfect sphere.
>>
>> BBC's wordhunt says it was an RAF term in wide use (and the
>> commentator's observation above would seem to bear this out).
>>
>> On the other hand, one would think that if the term were in wide use
>> prior to 1983, that someone would have written it down somewhere quite
>> a bit earlier. It's not as if programs and books about the RAF are in
>> short supply, and the use of RAF banter is something of a running joke
>> (there was a famous sequence in Monty Python years ago).
>>
>> Are there any sources prior to 1983?
>>
>>
>> TOF
>
>ITYWF it was originally in regard to apples specifically this: - There was a
>kind of blight common to certain traditional English varieties, prevalent a
>couple of centuries ago thereabouts, that caused the apples in effected
>trees to grow stunted and deformed, having small fruit bodies and an 'outy'
>navel, rather than the usual 'inny' apples are known for: John and Joe, two
>apple growers, down at the local pub early in the season:
>
>"Hey Joe, how goes your crop this season?"
>
>"Ohhh John, 'tis going afoul - all my apples have gone an' went
>pear-shaped!"
>
>HTH.

Before that, in Genesis. Adams wanted to know why Eve
was 'pear shaped' when all he got was an apple.
.