play it pear-shaped

English

Etymology

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

Verb

play it pear-shaped (third-person singular simple present plays it pear-shaped, present participle playing it pear-shaped, simple past and past participle played it pear-shaped)

(RAF slang, dated) To avoid committing oneself to a single course of action; to go with the flow, take it easy. [1960s]
- 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:
  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.
- [1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Mortdecai's Endgame (Mortdecai; 1), Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 180:
  "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.]
- 1999 December 11, “The town formerly known as Upton-cum-Chalvey”, in The Guardian‎, archived from the original on 2022-11-14:
  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).

References

Rick Jolly; Trugg Willson (1989), “pear-shaped”, in Jackspeak: the Pusser’s Rum Guide to Royal Navy Slanguage […], Torpoint, Cornwall: Palamanando Publ., →ISBN, page 210; republished as Rick Jolly, “pear-shaped”, in Jackspeak: A Guide to British Naval Slang and Usage, London: Bloomsbury Publishers, 2018, →ISBN: “‘Play it pear-shaped..’ – be flexible, see how it goes, don’t commit yourself too early on.”

单词	play it pear-shaped
释义	play it pear-shaped English Etymology Compare go pear-shaped (“to go awry; to go wrong”), attested somewhat later. Verb play it pear-shaped (third-person singular simple present plays it pear-shaped, present participle playing it pear-shaped, simple past and past participle played it pear-shaped) (RAF slang, dated) To avoid committing oneself to a single course of action; to go with the flow, take it easy. [1960s] 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: 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. [1973, Kyril Bonfiglioli, Mortdecai's Endgame (Mortdecai; 1), Simon & Schuster, →ISBN, page 180: "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.] 1999 December 11, “The town formerly known as Upton-cum-Chalvey”, in The Guardian‎, archived from the original on 2022-11-14: 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). References Rick Jolly; Trugg Willson (1989), “pear-shaped”, in Jackspeak: the Pusser’s Rum Guide to Royal Navy Slanguage […], Torpoint, Cornwall: Palamanando Publ., →ISBN, page 210; republished as Rick Jolly, “pear-shaped”, in Jackspeak: A Guide to British Naval Slang and Usage, London: Bloomsbury Publishers, 2018, →ISBN: “‘Play it pear-shaped..’ – be flexible, see how it goes, don’t commit yourself too early on.”
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