I mean it has to be play with words or tongue in cheek simply b/c the assumption of a fail-safe system failing is already contradictory. So you cannot say anything smart about that beyond - there are no fail-safe systems that fail.
The real world is the play. Words are just catching up.
Do you mean in that it fails by failing to be the thing that it purports to be? Making it no longer that thing? At what point does bread become toast?