of troy, here's a pasting from MW Unabridged:

Main Entry: 1crop·per Pronunciation Guide
Pronunciation: kräp(r)
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -s
Etymology: Middle English, from croppen to crop + -er
: one that crops : as a (1) : one that raises produce; specifically : SHARECROPPER <returned to the soil as croppers and later as tenants -- American Guide Series: Tennessee> (2) : a market gardener who raises special crops out of season b : a plant that yields a crop <this raspberry is a good cropper> c : a worker who cuts hides into crops and butt bends -- called also carver d (1) : any of various workers who shear textiles, metals, or leather (2) : a machine for doing this work

Main Entry: 2cropper Pronunciation Guide
Pronunciation: "
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -s
Etymology: 1crop (gullet) + -er
: a pigeon resembling the pouter

Main Entry: 3cropper Pronunciation Guide
Pronunciation: "
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): -s
Etymology: perhaps from 1crop (neck) + -er
1 : a severe fall <first time in the saddle he got an awful cropper>
2 : a sudden or violent failure or collapse <his delusions and the croppers they cost him -- Edmund Wilson> -- often used with come <to see their betters come a cropper -- Tyrone Guthrie>

- come a cropper 1 : to fall headlong 2 : to fail completely <they'll come a cropper one of these days if they don't balance their budget>

- fall a cropper : to come a cropper