came a cropper
Took a tumble
To come a cropper is to fail badly or suffer a sudden misfortune.
The phrase originated in British horsemanship—a cropper was a heavy fall from a horse.
Now it applies to any dramatic failure or setback: He invested everything in the venture and came a cropper when the market crashed.
Her political ambitions came a cropper after the scandal broke.
- fall flatFail to impress
- take a tumbleFall down suddenly
- bite the dustFail or perish utterly
- tripPlanned travel somewhere
- meet one's WaterlooExperience decisive, final defeat
stumble · take a spill · drop the ball · egg on face · come unstuck · hit the skids · blunder · misstep · slip · fiasco · crash · downfall · flop · falter · setback · plummet · nose dive · go wrong
came a croppersucceeded
Achieved desired outcome
triumphed · landed on one's feet · hit the jackpot · struck gold · made it big
came, comer, comers, cropper, croppers, crop, crops, cropped, cropping