on the fritz en · ADP
Etymology
Unknown. Attested from 1902, originally meaning “in a bad way” or “in bad condition”, malfunctioning of an appliance. Perhaps from German name Fritz, or onomatopoeic (imitating the sound of electric sparks jumping).
Meanings
-
(Northern-US, US, especially, of an electrical or mechanical appliance) Out of order; malfunctioning; broken.
“Or your cell-phone reception went on the fritz. We know how often that happens.”
2006, Nero Blanc, Death on the Diagonal, page 191:My washing machine has gone on the fritz, and I have a load of muddy clothes to clean.
Actually, no one had noticed, from what I could tell, though I was alarmed to hear about it. Why was our pilot telling us about questionable brakes and a computer on the fritz when we still had a landing to worry about five hours ahead?
2000 November 5, Bob Morris, “Don't Spill It on Me”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:Some time ago, a tenant called me and said her refrigerator was on the fritz. I had a spare, so I took it down to her and exchanged it for her old one.
2010, Ralph Bowersox, Ralph's True Stories: Entertaining Chronicles of Life in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, Late 1920s through the Present Day, page 185:No ′40s movie heroine worth the name would have a house that let in gusts of gelid air, had a heating system that went on the fritz constantly and leaked.
2004, Lisa Marie Rice, Woman On the Run, page 32:I'd record it, but my tape deck is on the fritz again.
Deriveds
Synonyms
spaz · on the blink · bung · fritzed
Translations (11)
da kaput (out of order, malfunctioning) · de hin (out of order, malfunctioning) · pl zepsuty (out of order, malfunctioning) · hu bekrepál (out of order, malfunctioning) · ru сло́ман (out of order, malfunctioning) · pt dar o berro (out of order, malfunctioning) · hu gajra megy (out of order, malfunctioning) · de kaputt (out of order, malfunctioning) · pt ir-se (out of order, malfunctioning) · ru поло́ман (out of order, malfunctioning) · da i udu (out of order, malfunctioning)