come a purler

come a purler

To fall in an especially clumsy or violent manner, often headfirst. (A "purler" is such a fall.) If you're not careful walking on that ice, you'll come a purler!

See also: come, purler

come (or go) a purler

fall heavily, especially head first.

The verb purl was in dialect or colloquial use in the mid 19th century in the senses ‘turn upside down’, ‘capsize’, or ‘go head over heels’.

See also: come, purler