came a cropper

Verb

come a cropper (third-person singular simple present comes a cropper, present participle coming a cropper, simple past came a cropper, past participle come a cropper)

1. (originally) To fall headlong from a horse.
2. (UK, idiomatic) To suffer some accident or misfortune; to fail.
   • She came a cropper on the stairs and broke her leg.
3. (informal) To die.
   • “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.”1920, Agatha Christie, The Mysterious Affair at Styles, London: Pan Books, published 1954, page 8