Come a Cropper Definition

Contents

• 1 English
  • 1.1 Etymology
  • 1.2 Verb
  • 1.3 See also
    • 1.3.1 References

English

Etymology

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

Verb

to come a cropper

1. (archaic) To fall headlong from a horse.
2. (UK, idiomatic) To suffer some misfortune; to fail.
   • 1879, Anthony Trollope, The Duke's Children, ch. 67:

     I should feel certain that I should come a cropper, but still I'd try it. As you say, a fellow should try.

   • 1922, Katherine Mansfield, At The Bay, [1]:

     You couldn't help feeling he'd be caught out one day, and then what an almighty cropper he'd come!

See also

• neck and crop

References

• "Come a cropper" in Michael Quinion, Ballyhoo, Buckaroo, and Spuds, 2004.

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