Come a cropper

verb, slang

Definitions

Verb
  1. 1
    To fall headlong from a horse.
  2. 2
    To suffer some accident or misfortune; to fail. British, idiomatic

    "She came a cropper on the stairs and broke her leg."

  3. 3
    To die. informal

    "“No, Cynthia is a protégée of my mother’s, the daughter of an old schoolfellow of hers, who married a rascally solicitor. He came a cropper, and the girl was left an orphan and penniless. My mother came to the rescue, and Cynthia has been with us nearly two years now.”"

Etymology

Possibly from the phrase neck and crop, in which crop may refer to the backside of a horse.

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