on the fritz

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on the fritz

Rhymes with -ɪts

Where it comes from

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).

phrase

Northern US, US, especially, of an electrical or mechanical appliance Out of order; malfunctioning; broken. I'd record it, but my tape deck is on the fritz again.
Similar: fritzed, bung, on the blink, spaz

Translations

Every language

prep_phrase out of order, malfunctioning

Português	dar o berro, ir-se
Deutsch	kaputt, hin
Русский	сло́ман slóman, поло́ман polóman

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Cite this

MLA

"on the fritz." Wiktionary, via Micwyn, micwyn.com/word/on%20the%20fritz. Accessed 6 Nov. 2026.

APA

on the fritz. (n.d.). In Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Retrieved November 6, 2026, from https://micwyn.com/word/on%20the%20fritz

Chicago

"on the fritz." Wiktionary, via Micwyn. Accessed November 6, 2026. https://micwyn.com/word/on%20the%20fritz.

BibTeX

@misc{on_the_fritz_2026,
  title = {on the fritz},
  howpublished = {Wiktionary, via Micwyn},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://micwyn.com/word/on%20the%20fritz},
  urldate = {2026-11-06}
}