fritz
n. uncountablen. a state where a machine or piece of equipment stops working correctly. You usually use it when something electrical starts acting strangely or breaks suddenly.
n. a state of disorder or functional failure, specifically regarding mechanical or electronic devices. Primarily used in the idiomatic construction 'on the fritz'.
My old TV is on the fritz again.
The office air conditioning went on the fritz during the hottest week of the summer, making it impossible to work.
Just as the presentation reached its most critical data point, the projector went on the fritz, leaving the speaker to explain the complex charts from memory.
Borrowed from German Fritz, pet form of Friedrich (“Frederick”).
Almost exclusively used in the prepositional phrase 'on the fritz'.