on the fritz

Etymology
. Attested from 1902, originally meaning “in a bad way” or “in bad condition”, malfunctioning of an appliance. Perhaps from German name. , or (here, imitating the sound of electric sparks jumping).

Prepositional phrase

 * 1)  Out of order; malfunctioning; broken.

Translations

 * Danish: i udu, kaput
 * German: ,
 * Polish: