[1] From the scholia to the passage about to be quoted (see note 2), which interpret it thus: "May I fail in (cf. delta 642) my expectation, if I do not destroy you, if you answer any of my lies" (oi(=on diamarth/saimi th=s e)lpi/dos, ei) se mh\ a)pole/saimi, ei) ti tw=n e)mw=n u(pokri/naio yeusma/twn).
[2] Aristophanes, Knights 694-695 (web address 1), again at epsilon 1278. Its optative verb has several meanings, including 'fail', attributed to it in the scholion (cf. delta 935, delta 691; web address 2), but, in the mouth of Kleon (kappa 1731) going head-to head with the sausage-seller, it cannot fail to evoke its literal meaning, 'fall apart', for the explosion of a sausage in the frying pan.