diff --git a/test/retire.test.ts b/test/retire.test.ts
index 25e3155..4b6f4e7 100644
--- a/test/retire.test.ts
+++ b/test/retire.test.ts
@@ -38,7 +38,7 @@ interface World {
 
 async function world(
   names: string[],
-  opts: { retire?: boolean; held?: string[]; del?: boolean; reenable?: boolean; stableForMs?: number } = {},
+  opts: { retire?: boolean; held?: string[]; del?: boolean; reenable?: boolean; stableForMs?: number; stablePasses?: number } = {},
 ): Promise<World> {
   const dir = await mkdtemp(join(tmpdir(), "retire-"));
   const receives = join(dir, "postgres-database.json");
@@ -64,6 +64,7 @@ async function world(
   };
   w.p = runProviderLoop("postgres-database", adapter, {
     receives, everyMs: EVERY, node: "anchor", stableForMs: opts.stableForMs ?? 0,
+    ...(opts.stablePasses ? { stablePasses: opts.stablePasses } : {}),
     // Only retirement is these tests'; the standing (provisioner.failing, .recovered) is standing.test.ts's.
     announce: (event, body) => { if (event === RETIREMENT_EVENT) w.events.push(body); },
   });
@@ -302,13 +303,13 @@ test("delete refuses an active consumer and deletes only the named retired one",
 });
 
 test("an addition acts on the first pass", async () => {
-  // Not gated by the stability a retirement waits for: with a hold of a minute, only a pass that acts at once creates b
-  // in the time the test waits. A deadline of three intervals, as before, was a race with the scheduler under load.
-  const w = await world(["a"], { stableForMs: 60_000 });
+  // Not gated by the stability a retirement waits for: with a hold of a minute and a thousand passes, only a pass that
+  // acts at once creates b. The deadline is a few passes, not three intervals of 10 ms: a scheduler stall must not fail it.
+  const w = await world(["a"], { stableForMs: 60_000, stablePasses: 1000 });
   try {
     const before = w.created.length;
     await w.ask(["a", "b"]);
-    await until(() => w.created.length > before);
+    await until(() => w.created.length > before, 1000);
     assert.equal(w.created.at(-1), "b");
   } finally {
     w.done();
diff --git a/test/standing.test.ts b/test/standing.test.ts
index 49e3db2..de76be3 100644
--- a/test/standing.test.ts
+++ b/test/standing.test.ts
@@ -134,14 +134,14 @@ test("a consumer failed for minutes is announced, naming it, its machine and the
 test("one success between failures starts the run again", async () => {
   const w = await world();
   try {
-    // Each failing run lasts two failed attempts, counted, not a slept fraction of failingAfterMs. A run the load
+    // Each failing run lasts two counted failed attempts and at least 0.6 of failingAfterMs of clock (long enough that a success which did not reset the run would be announced at the second run). A run the load
     // stretched to failingAfterMs is a long run and may be announced, so only runs that stayed short are asserted.
     const run = async (values?: Record<string, unknown>): Promise<number> => {
       const start = Date.now();
       const base = w.attempts;
       w.failing = new Error("connection refused");
       await w.ask([{ as: "a", values }]);
-      await until(() => w.attempts >= base + 2);
+      await until(() => w.attempts >= base + 2 && Date.now() - start >= FAILING_AFTER * 0.6);
       w.failing = null;
       return Date.now() - start;
     };