diff --git a/spec/rspec/core/backtrace_formatter_spec.rb b/spec/rspec/core/backtrace_formatter_spec.rb
index 7355243229..d9d9f554dd 100644
--- a/spec/rspec/core/backtrace_formatter_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/rspec/core/backtrace_formatter_spec.rb
@@ -206,7 +206,7 @@ def make_backtrace_formatter(exclusion_patterns=nil, inclusion_patterns=nil)
       end
 
       it "deals gracefully with a security error" do
-        safely do
+        with_safe_set_to_level_that_triggers_security_errors do
           self.formatter.__send__(:backtrace_line, __FILE__)
           # on some rubies, this doesn't raise a SecurityError; this test just
           # assures that if it *does* raise an error, the error is caught inside
diff --git a/spec/rspec/core/formatters/snippet_extractor_spec.rb b/spec/rspec/core/formatters/snippet_extractor_spec.rb
index 5227e2532f..2708be83a6 100644
--- a/spec/rspec/core/formatters/snippet_extractor_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/rspec/core/formatters/snippet_extractor_spec.rb
@@ -14,7 +14,7 @@ module Formatters
 
         it "falls back on a default message when it gets a security error" do
           message = nil
-          safely do
+          with_safe_set_to_level_that_triggers_security_errors do
             message = RSpec::Core::Formatters::SnippetExtractor.new.lines_around("blech", 8)
           end
           expect(message).to eq("# Couldn't get snippet for blech")
diff --git a/spec/rspec/core/metadata_spec.rb b/spec/rspec/core/metadata_spec.rb
index 7a6b2da1aa..5e363508fa 100644
--- a/spec/rspec/core/metadata_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/rspec/core/metadata_spec.rb
@@ -15,7 +15,7 @@ module Core
         end
         # I have no idea what line = line.sub(/\A([^:]+:\d+)$/, '\\1') is supposed to do
         it "gracefully returns nil if run in a secure thread" do
-          safely do
+          with_safe_set_to_level_that_triggers_security_errors do
             value = Metadata.relative_path(".")
             # on some rubies, File.expand_path is not a security error, so accept "." as well
             expect([nil, "."]).to include(value)
diff --git a/spec/rspec/core/notifications_spec.rb b/spec/rspec/core/notifications_spec.rb
index 499980a4ab..291dec721d 100644
--- a/spec/rspec/core/notifications_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/rspec/core/notifications_spec.rb
@@ -33,7 +33,7 @@
       let(:exception) { instance_double(Exception, :backtrace => [ "#{__FILE__}:#{__LINE__}"]) }
 
       it "is handled gracefully" do
-        safely do
+        with_safe_set_to_level_that_triggers_security_errors do
           expect { notification.send(:read_failed_line) }.not_to raise_error
         end
       end
diff --git a/spec/support/helper_methods.rb b/spec/support/helper_methods.rb
index 4b6abe8705..ba7bab4882 100644
--- a/spec/support/helper_methods.rb
+++ b/spec/support/helper_methods.rb
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ def ignoring_warnings
     result
   end
 
-  def safely
+  def with_safe_set_to_level_that_triggers_security_errors
     Thread.new do
       ignoring_warnings { $SAFE = 3 }
       yield