(Scoped) Implicits are awesome, it turns out that scope is exactly the solution to the problem with generalised monkey-patching :o

Also props to the author for not using the (horrible) term used in early Scala documentation/papers/books of "pimp-my-library"

Bah. Programming should be fun; there's a reason the biggest scala web framework is called "play". pimp-my-library is a memorable way to express an important concept. Documentation shouldn't have to be po-faced all the time.

The problem is that pimp has two meanings, the unintended meaning painting a weird picture in my head.

Really? The only image I get is a leopard print chevy with a hottub on a trailer.

unfortunately that nomenclature might also lead to exposing a spank the monkey method which might also be suboptimal

Ruby is gradually adding the ability to monkey patch without polluting the global scope via Refinements:

http://timelessrepo.com/refinements-in-ruby