Among a circle of
friends spread across North
Staffordshire and South
Cheshire, "to come a
cropper" is the most commonly used
phrase. Its original
meaning, as defined above, has been somewhat altered.
Anyone or anything can come a cropper. If you fail an exam, you have come a cropper in it. If you get very drunk and become ill, you have also come a cropper. Plans can all too easily come a cropper.
The phrase has also been adapted to fit more or less any meaning. A person can be a cropper, a crop or even a croppé. One can be feeling croppersome or cropperish. If everything has gone wrong, you could be said to be well and truly croppered. This final word is reserved for the most serious of come a croppers.