E. Cobham Brewer 1810–1897. Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. 1898.
Autumn.
He is come to his autumn, i.e. to be hanged, to his “fall.” A pun on the plan of “turning a man off” by dropping the plank on which he stands. The drop is the “leaf,” and autumn is called the “fall,” or “fall of the leaf.”
