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Dictionary

Words, grammatical forms and meanings linked to the ontology.

fritz en · NOUN

Pronunciation

  • (Australia) audio
  • /fɹɪts/

Etymology

Unknown. See on the fritz, which appeared in 1902. Possibly from German name Fritz, or onomatopoeia.

Meanings

  1. (Northern-US, informal, uncountable) The state of being defective.
  2. (Australia, South, uncountable) A type of processed meat sausage; devon
    • Generally, cooked deli products include Devon, Strasbourg sausage, Polish sausage, fritz, cabanossi or cabana, mortadella, and well-cooked roast beef (brown/grey in colour). 2000, Peter Cerexhe, John Ashton, Risky Foods, Safer Choices: Avoiding Food Poisoning, page 52:

fritz en · VERB

Pronunciation

  • (Australia) audio
  • /fɹɪts/

Etymology

Unknown. See on the fritz, which appeared in 1902. Possibly from German name Fritz, or onomatopoeia.

Meanings

  1. (intransitive) To go wrong or become defective.
    • One clip, of Talking Heads playing “Born Under Punches” in Rome in 1980, is shot largely at groin level, amid sound equipment that is being manipulated for feedback squeals and other effects; it’s like being close to the crooked spine and fritzed nervous system of a body that’s simultaneously pushing its sex appeal. 2008 May 18, Virginia Heffernan, “Pixels at an Exhibition”, in New York Times:
    • My brain was fritzing like an elderly TV set about to die. I hit the side of my head with the heel of my hand. Percussive maintenance. It didn't work. 2009, Jaqueline Girdner, Murder, My Deer, page 15:

Forms

SpellingFeaturesLabelsSource
fritzes Number=Sing, Person=3, Tense=Pres lexicographic
fritzing Tense=Pres, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
fritzed Tense=Past, VerbForm=Part lexicographic
fritzed Tense=Past lexicographic

Deriveds

fritz up · fritz out

Relateds

on the fritz

Translations (1)

de kaputtgehen (Go wrong or become defective)