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]