A sharecropper. iThe phrase come a cropper means to experience a sudden, heavy fall or to fail completely in a plan or endeavor.Glen Campbell 1936-2017

A sharecropper is a tenant farmer who works land owned by someone else and pays for it with a share of the harvested crop instead of cash. [1]

How the System Worked

The Agreement: Landowners provided the land, housing, tools, seed, or animals. [1]
The Payment: The sharecropper gave the owner a large portion of the crop, usually one-half to two-thirds. [1]
Credit and Debt: Workers bought food and supplies on credit from local merchants or landowners. High interest rates and low crop prices often kept workers in a continuous cycle of debt. [1, 2]

History and Impact

Post-Civil War: The system grew rapidly in the southern United States after the Civil War when slavery ended and the regional economy was broken. [1, 2]
The Workers: Most participants were poor, including both freed Black people and poor white people. Most users on Reddit agree that formerly enslaved Black Americans were heavily forced into this system due to a lack of property, money, or other options, compounded by restrictive local laws. [1, 2]
Decline: The system largely ended by the mid-20th century due to new farm machinery and economic changes. [1]

The phrase come a cropper means to experience a sudden, heavy fall or to fail completely in a plan or endeavor. It is an informal idiom used mostly in British English. [1, 2, 3, 4]

What It Means

To fall down: To physically trip, slip, or tumble hard—such as falling off a bike, a horse, or on ice. [1, 2, 3]
To fail badly: To suffer a major, often unexpected defeat or ruin in a business, project, or exam. [1, 2, 3]

Examples of Usage

"She came a cropper on the icy stairs and hurt her knee."
"The business plan came a cropper when the main investor backed out at the last minute." [1, 2]

Where the Phrase Comes From

The expression dates back to the 19th century in Britain. It originally referred to a heavy fall from a horse—tumbling headlong over the horse's head or landing hard on its "croup" (the hindquarters). Over time, people started using the physical image of a sudden, painful spill to describe any major failure in life. [1, 2, 3, 4]

If you want, I can share more common British idioms or give you some synonyms for this phrase. Let me know how you'd like to proceed!

短語“come a cropper”意指突然重重摔倒，或在某項計劃或嘗試中徹底失敗。這是一個主要用於英式英語的非正式慣用語。其意義包括：摔倒（指身體上的絆倒、滑倒或重重跌落，例如從自行車或馬背上摔下，或在冰面上摔倒）以及慘敗（指在商業、項目或考試中遭受重大且往往出乎意料的失敗或挫折）。使用範例：「她在結冰的樓梯上重重摔了一跤，傷到了膝蓋。」「當主要投資者在最後一刻退出時，這項商業計劃徹底失敗了。」該短語的由來：這一表達源於19世紀的英國。它最初指的是從馬背上重重摔下——即一頭栽過馬頭，或者重重地摔在馬的「croup」（馬臀部）上。隨著時間的推移，人們開始用這種突然且痛苦的跌倒畫面，來形容生活中的任何重大失敗。如果你願意，我可以分享更多常用的英國習語，或提供這個短語的同義詞。請告訴我你想怎麼做！

CreditNBC, via Getty Images
Glen Campbell, Whose Music Bridged Country and Pop, Dies
A sharecropper’s son who became a recording, television and movie star, Mr. Campbell also battled addiction before becoming a public face of Alzheimer’s disease. He was 81.
By MICHAEL POLLAK





Glen Travis Campbell was an American singer, songwriter, musician, television host, and actor. He is best known for a series of hits in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting a music and comedy variety ...Wikipedia



Died: August 8, 2017, Nashville, Tennessee, United States





From 2014: Glen Campbell's last song will make you cry
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7T5tSymfvys



Glen Campbell Farewell
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S6J99mWFqMU