cropper
See also: Cropper
English
Etymology 1
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- (normally confined to the expression come a cropper) A fall, a tumble; a decided failure.
- 1900, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Avon Books, (translated by James Strachey) page: 185:
- But to myself I thought: ‘Considering that for eight whole years I sat on the front bench as top of the class while he drifted about somewhere in the middle, he can hardly fail to nourish a wish, left over from his schooldays, that some day or other I may come a complete cropper.’
- 1991, Stephen Fry, The Liar, p. 29:
- You're riding for a fall, Healey, you know that? There are hedges and ditches ahead and you are on course for an almighty cropper.
- 1900, Sigmund Freud, The Interpretation of Dreams, Avon Books, (translated by James Strachey) page: 185:
Etymology 2
crop + -er, in reference to a bird's crop.
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- A breed of domestic pigeon with large crop.
Etymology 3
crop + -er, in reference to agricultural crops.
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- A person who nurtures and gathers a crop.
- A variety of plant producing a good harvest.
- 1901 July 5, “Coast Fruit”, in The Agricultural Journal and Mining Record[1], volume 4, number 9, page 284:
- The mango tree cannot be regarded as a reliable cropper.
Etymology 4
Noun
cropper (plural croppers)
- A machine for cropping, as for shearing off bolts or rod iron, or for facing cloth.