Bear Trap

Noun · Slang & Abbreviations

Definitions

  1. A hidden or easy-to-trigger failure point that catches people unexpectedly. In engineering slang, a bear trap is often a configuration edge case or workflow hazard that repeatedly injures whoever touches it next.

    In plain English: A hidden problem or hazard that is easy to stumble into.

    Example: "That deploy script was a bear trap because it looked safe in dry run mode but silently targeted production if one environment variable was missing."

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