fritz
noun
ˈfrits 
: a state of disorder or disrepair —used in the phrase on the fritz
One day the Internet connection at the house goes on the fritz [=stops working properly], so I go with the laptop to a cafe and ask if it has wireless.
Joel Achenbach
Joel Achenbach
Example Sentences
Recent Examples on the Web Of course, the way this wavering San Francisco Giants season is going, the moment the bats got going again, the bullpen was on the fritz. Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Aug. 2022 The soft-serve machine is on the fritz and would cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace. Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 11 Aug. 2022 An ancient, rattling Hobart mixer is perpetually on the fritz. Emily Heil, Washington Post, 6 July 2022 With her powers on the fritz, the Mind Flayer, who may have been defeated in the real world but still reigns in the Upside Down, is obviously plotting his comeback. Helena Andrews-dyer, Washington Post, 27 May 2022 In the meantime, emergency-room doctors at the hospital couldn’t perform a key test, for a protein called troponin, to diagnose heart attacks, when the machine was on the fritz, people familiar with the matter said. Christopher Weaver, WSJ, 5 May 2022 The elevator has been on the fritz, and a second one has never been in service. New York Times, 15 Apr. 2022 But even our metrics are, at this point, kind of on the fritz. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2022 Too many aspects of ourselves crammed together has sent our brains on the fritz. Zak Jason, Wired, 12 Feb. 2022 See More
Susan Slusser, San Francisco Chronicle, 21 Aug. 2022 The soft-serve machine is on the fritz and would cost tens of thousands of dollars to replace. Susan Dunne, Hartford Courant, 11 Aug. 2022 An ancient, rattling Hobart mixer is perpetually on the fritz. Emily Heil, Washington Post, 6 July 2022 With her powers on the fritz, the Mind Flayer, who may have been defeated in the real world but still reigns in the Upside Down, is obviously plotting his comeback. Helena Andrews-dyer, Washington Post, 27 May 2022 In the meantime, emergency-room doctors at the hospital couldn’t perform a key test, for a protein called troponin, to diagnose heart attacks, when the machine was on the fritz, people familiar with the matter said. Christopher Weaver, WSJ, 5 May 2022 The elevator has been on the fritz, and a second one has never been in service. New York Times, 15 Apr. 2022 But even our metrics are, at this point, kind of on the fritz. Katherine J. Wu, The Atlantic, 23 Mar. 2022 Too many aspects of ourselves crammed together has sent our brains on the fritz. Zak Jason, Wired, 12 Feb. 2022 See More Word History
Etymology
origin unknown
First Known Use
1902, in the meaning defined above