lost in the fog

[Unregistered]

i was sure there was an idiom "pack up" meaning that something has gone wrong with the appliance, like in "my car has packed up and I'm stranded here.." but when I started checking, I couldn't find it online. any comments?

[Anglika]

No, there is a colloquial phrase "packed up" = given up the ghost/broken down/failed. It is very common in BrE.

pack up Brit. informal (of a machine) break down.

[RonBee]

I was sure there was an idiom "pack up" meaning that something has gone wrong with an appliance, like in "my car has packed up and I'm stranded here.." But when I started checking, I couldn't find it online. Any comments?

It is, apparently, strictly British English.

~R

[Delmobile]

I've certainly never heard it over here. I've heard "pack it in," as in "I'm about ready to pack it in," but that means to quit work or to give up.

[native speaker, not a teacher]