the.com/failsafe
A plan for when your plan breaks its promise.
means A backup mechanism designed to automatically protect against failure, kicking in when the primary system stops working as intended.
from Compound of 'fail' and 'safe,' coined in engineering circles in the mid-20th century to describe systems (originally in aviation and nuclear contexts) built so that if a component broke, it would default to a safe state rather than a catastrophic one — the opposite of failing dangerously. It later spread into everyday language for any backup plan meant to catch disaster before it lands.
- origin
- coined for nuclear systems that default to safe shutdown
- irony
- the device most trusted is the one assuming failure
- misuse
- people call backups failsafe when they just mean redundant
- true test
- works precisely when everything else already didn't