freeze, on the friz, on the fritz--and Santa 1902

[Jonathan Lighter]

While "on the fritz" has long meant "malfunctioning" (solely), it seems
originally to have meant worthless or of poor quality. See HDAS, whose
primary cite comes from _Life in Sing Sing," by "No. 1500."

JL




On Sun, Aug 31, 2014 at 9:18 AM, Stephen Goranson <goranson at duke.edu> wrote:

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> Sender:       American Dialect Society <ADS-L at LISTSERV.UGA.EDU>
> Poster:       Stephen Goranson <goranson at DUKE.EDU>
> Subject:      freeze, on the friz, on the fritz--and Santa 1902
>
> -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Previously it was shown that the phrase has two spellings--on the fritz
> and=
>  on the friz--and two pronunciations, rhyming with "is" and with "wits."
> DA=
> RE, EDD, and OED show friz as a dialect and/or vulgar form of freeze. DARE
> =
> give a sense of freeze as "to intimidate; to snub," with an example from
> 18=
> 76. Webster's New World has "freeze out [Colloq.] to keep out or force out
> =
> by a cold manner, competition, etc." (OED and especially HDAS provide many
> =
> quotations, though neither notes the two spellings nor the two
> pronunciatio=
> ns.) Apparently not only electrical appliances are irrelevant in the early
> =
> uses (becoming associated only later), but also apparently irrelevant is
> th=
> e personal name Fritz.
>
>
> The OED June 2014 revision antedates "on the fritz" to Aug. 25, 1900. That
> =
> quote is from a short play written by 51,682, a prisoner at Sing Sing.
> Maxi=
> mus Actorius, "an actor who sees things," speaks a mishmash of
> Shakespearea=
> n English; Umpty Ump Mike replies: "Say Max, I like you all right, but I
> wa=
> nt to give you a pointer....Now all dis kind of talk is on de fritz,
> see?"-=
> -in effect Mike wants to freeze it out.
>
> The same publication edited at Sing Sing, The Star of Hope, Saturday,
> Augus=
> t 25, 1902 p. 168 col. 3 has a usage that has been noted before here and
> in=
>  newspaper columns in snippet form, though inaccurately, lacking a word
> [an=
> y], and lacking context. (I thank Joanne Despres of Merriam-Webster for
> the=
>  reference.) Here is one fifth of the poem "Suppose" by 23,669 of Auburn
> NY=
>  Prison:
>
>
> What would the little acorn do
>
> If it had no place to grow?
>
> Would Santa Claus be on the "fritz"
>
> If we never had any snow?
>
>
> Paradoxically, lack of freezing would freeze Santa out of work.
>
> Some resist being frozen out. E.g, Fleming DuBignon, in The Atlanta
> Constit=
> ution, April 14, 1896 p.4 article (from Cuthbert) headlined "Refused To Be
> =
> 'Friz.'"
>
> "There is an evident desire among the administration followers in Georgia
> t=
> o freeze Flem DuBignon out of the race for senate....But the Hon. Flem
> pref=
> ers not to freeze...."
>
> ***
>
>
> "Deep breathing is the thing for you if you are on the friz;
>
> It drives away the devils blue and sharpens up the wits;...."
>
> --Washington Herald
>
> (Feb. 5, 1908 Trenton [NJ] Evening Times p. 6. col. 3 America's Historic
> Ne=
> wspapers)
>
>
> Stephen Goranson
>
> http://people.duke.edu/~goranson/
>
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> The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org
>



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