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- The exact origin of the phrase “On the Fritz” is somewhat uncertain, but it is believed to have originated in the United States in the late 19th or early 20th century. There are two different etymologies for the expression. One identifies the term “Fritz” as an onomatopoetic word, mimicing the sparking sound of a faulty wire.
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Mar 11, 1994 · Noting that the earliest citation of “on the fritz” in the Oxford English Dictionary is from 1903, word detectives William and Mary Morris guess that it all started with the comic strip The Katzenjammer Kids, which began around that time.
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The Origins of “On The Fritz”. The exact origin of this idiom is unclear, but it is believed to have originated in America in the early 20th century. Some speculate that it may have been derived from German immigrants who used a similar phrase “auf der Fritz” which means “in a state of disorder”.
Jul 17, 2023 · One identifies the term “Fritz” as an onomatopoetic word, mimicing the sparking sound of a faulty wire. This is considered to be a more likely origin, as the expression has been around in American English as early as 1905.
Aug 11, 2001 · William and Mary Morris, in the Morris Dictionary of Word and Phrase Origins, suggest that it may nevertheless have come from someone called Fritz — in the comic strip called The Katzenjammer Kids.
4 days ago · 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.
The meaning of FRITZ is a state of disorder or disrepair —used in the phrase on the fritz. How to use fritz in a sentence.
May 26, 2021 · The two phrases are Americanisms and start appearing around the turn of the twentieth century, but otherwise the origins of both are obscure. The two leading hypotheses for the origins are, first, that on the fritz comes from the German pet name Fritz, short for Friedrich.
