Etymology

play it pear-shaped

Today it means: To avoid committing oneself to a single course of action; to go with the flow, take it easy. Full definition →

First used 1960s
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The story

Compare go pear-shaped (“to go awry; to go wrong”), attested somewhat later.

First known use, by meaning

  • 1960s To avoid committing oneself to a single course of action; to go with the flow, take it easy.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.