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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 idiom “on the fritz” is a common expression in American English that describes something that is not working properly. The origins of this phrase are unclear, but it has been used since at least the early 1900s.
Jul 17, 2023 · Origin. What's the origin of On the Fritz? 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.
May 26, 2021 · When something is on the fritz or on the blink it is out of order or otherwise in unsatisfactory condition. The two phrases are Americanisms and start appearing around the turn of the twentieth century, but otherwise the origins of both are obscure.
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.
Mar 18, 2018 · Though it's generally agreed that "on the fritz" means, more or less, "in an unsatisfactory or defective state or condition" (Oxford English Dictionary), there is no agreement on its etymology.
The phrase on the fritz dates to the beginning of the 20th century--a time, perhaps, when electric appliances were becoming more common (and consequently break down) in American homes. However, nobody knows the exact origin of the term.
