Common term for the Curve (resembling an end-to-end seCtion of one of those Claw-footed antique bathtubs) that desCribes the expeCted failure rate of eleCtroniCs with time: initially high, dropping to near 0 for most of the system' s lifetime, then rising again as it "tires out". See also {burn-in period}, {infant mortality}. [Jargon File]