A state of disrepair or malfunction, usually used in the phrase 'on the fritz,' meaning something is broken or not working properly.
The origin is uncertain, but it may derive from the name 'Fritz,' used generically in early 20th-century American slang, or from German 'Fritzchen' (a common German name). The phrase 'on the fritz' appeared in American English around the 1900s-1920s.
Nobody is completely sure where 'fritz' comes from, but it might be from German slang where 'Fritz' was a generic name for a device or thing—like how we sometimes say a gadget is 'on the blink.' It's a great example of how some everyday slang has mysterious origins that even experts can't definitively trace!
Complete word intelligence in one call. Free tier — 50 lookups/day.