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on the fritz. In DICTIOUS you will not only get to know all the dictionary meanings for the word
on the fritz, but we will also tell you about its etymology, its characteristics and you will know how to say
on the fritz in singular and plural. Everything you need to know about the word
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English
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 (here, imitating the sound of electric sparks jumping).
Pronunciation
Prepositional phrase
on the fritz
- (of electrical or mechanical appliances, idiomatic, Northern US) Out of order; malfunctioning; broken.
- Synonyms: fritzed, (Australian) bung, (UK, Australia) on the blink, (offensive) spaz
I'd record it, but my tape deck is on the fritz again.
My washing machine has gone on the fritz, and I have a load of muddy clothes to clean.
2000 November 5, Bob Morris, “Don't Spill It on Me”, in The New York Times, →ISSN: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?
2004, Lisa Marie Rice, Woman On the Run, page 32: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.
2006, Nero Blanc, Death on the Diagonal, page 191:“Or your cell-phone reception went on the fritz. We know how often that happens.”
2010, Ralph Bowersox, Ralph's True Stories: Entertaining Chronicles of Life in Clarion County, Pennsylvania, Late 1920s through the Present Day, page 185: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.
Derived terms
Translations
out of order, malfunctioning
References