on the fritz

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).

• "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."
• "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?"
• "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."
• "“Or your cell-phone reception went on the fritz. We know how often that happens.”"
• "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."

• fritzed
• bung
• on the blink
• spaz