Over at The Critic, the good doctor recounts a recent incident with his unresponsive printer. This may not be the most earth-shattering of events, but I think most of us here would happily read Theodore Dalrymple describing buttering his toast in the morning.
Why not just say, The printer failed to print your document? This might suggest a mechanical or other breakdown. The wording used, by contrast, suggests that I should feel sorry for my printer for having placed unreasonable demands on and expected too much of it. No wonder the printer is feeling stressed out.
Maybe poltergeists have kept up with the times and can affect computers, phones, and printers, etc…
“poltergeist activity—also known as “recurrent spontaneous psychokinesis” or RSPK—is the result of psychic energy generated (usually unconsciously) by a person, referred to as an agent.”