went pear-shaped
Took bad turn
Went pear-shaped means something failed or went wrong, especially after a promising start.
British in origin, the phrase suggests a shape that should have stayed round but sagged or distorted: The project went pear-shaped when funding fell through.
Often used with "all": Everything went pear-shaped after the merger.
- fell to piecesDisintegrated or collapsed completely
- train wreckUtter chaotic disaster
- backfiredProduced unintended harmful consequences
- unraveledCame undone or solved
- guttedEmptied of contents
off the rails · imploded · blew it · hit a snag · hit the fan · crestfallen · mortified · derailed · fell apart · fell flat · dodgy · came a cropper · hit the skids · crashed and burned · dropped the ball · naff · wonky · bit the dust
outcome success
went pear-shapedsucceeded
Achieved desired outcome
worked out · came together · paid off · hit the mark · came off
went, pear, pears, shaped, shape, shapes, shaping, shaper, reshape