going pear-shaped
Spiraling into chaos
Going pear-shaped means deteriorating or failing, especially when something that started well goes wrong: The project was on track until last week, then it all went pear-shaped.
The expression is British in origin and suggests a shape distorting from its intended form.
Common in casual speech when plans collapse unexpectedly.
- backfireYield unintended consequences
- fall apartBreak into pieces
- fall to piecesFragment completely, lose cohesion
- derailForce off course
- catastropheDevastating, large-scale misfortune
go off the rails · fiasco · go awry · frustration · calamity · come unstuck · come apart at the seams · unravel · hit the skids · disappointment · snowball · go belly-up · debacle · go south · go down the tubes · implode · cock-up · hit the fan
outcome/success
going pear-shapedsucceeding
Attaining aims or following
working out · going to plan · coming together · falling into place · panning out