play it pear-shaped

present singular third person plays it pear-shaped · participle present playing it pear-shaped · participle past played it pear-shaped · past played it pear-shaped

1. datedRAF slangTo avoid committing oneself to a single course of action; to go with the flow, take it easy.First known use 1960s

   When their plans were going awry, Wattis soothed them by saying they were going to "play it pear-shaped" (ie it would all go smoothly).

   1999 December 11, “The town formerly known as Upton-cum-Chalvey”, in The Guardian, archived from the original on 14 Nov 2022

   2 more examples

   I thought I'd play it pear-shaped with the Borough Engineer and asked him whose property it was anyway when it was in my garden — if the Council put it there enough times, it meant they were trying to get rid of it even though they didn't own it.

   1964, Densil Barr, “I Hate You Lamp-Post, You Know I Love You”, in Joseph F. McCrindle, editor, The Transatlantic Review, number 17, page 112

   "Playing it pear-shaped" was a favourite expression of Jock's; it seemed to mean deftly turning a situation to one's own advantage; seizing a favorable opportunity: Boxing Clever.

   [1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Mortdecai's Endgame (Mortdecai; 1), Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 180