diff --git a/lib/puppet/parser/parser_support.rb b/lib/puppet/parser/parser_support.rb
index b1688cd22..41bebe420 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/parser/parser_support.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/parser/parser_support.rb
@@ -1,207 +1,207 @@
 # I pulled this into a separate file, because I got
 # tired of rebuilding the parser.rb file all the time.
 class Puppet::Parser::Parser
   require 'puppet/parser/functions'
   require 'puppet/parser/files'
   require 'puppet/resource/type_collection'
   require 'puppet/resource/type_collection_helper'
   require 'puppet/resource/type'
   require 'monitor'
 
   AST = Puppet::Parser::AST
 
   include Puppet::Resource::TypeCollectionHelper
 
   attr_reader :version, :environment
   attr_accessor :files
 
   attr_accessor :lexer
 
   # Add context to a message; useful for error messages and such.
   def addcontext(message, obj = nil)
     obj ||= @lexer
 
     message += " on line #{obj.line}"
     if file = obj.file
       message += " in file #{file}"
     end
 
     message
   end
 
   # Create an AST array containing a single element
   def aryfy(arg)
     ast AST::ASTArray, :children => [arg]
   end
 
   # Create an AST object, and automatically add the file and line information if
   # available.
   def ast(klass, hash = {})
     klass.new ast_context(klass.use_docs).merge(hash)
   end
 
   def ast_context(include_docs = false)
     result = {
       :line => lexer.line,
       :file => lexer.file
     }
     result[:doc] = lexer.getcomment(result[:line]) if include_docs
     result
   end
 
   # The fully qualifed name, with the full namespace.
   def classname(name)
     [@lexer.namespace, name].join("::").sub(/^::/, '')
   end
 
   def clear
     initvars
   end
 
   # Raise a Parse error.
   def error(message, options = {})
     if brace = @lexer.expected
       message += "; expected '%s'"
     end
     except = Puppet::ParseError.new(message)
     except.line = options[:line] || @lexer.line
     except.file = options[:file] || @lexer.file
 
     raise except
   end
 
   def file
     @lexer.file
   end
 
   def file=(file)
     unless FileTest.exist?(file)
       unless file =~ /\.pp$/
         file = file + ".pp"
       end
       raise Puppet::Error, "Could not find file #{file}" unless FileTest.exist?(file)
     end
     raise Puppet::AlreadyImportedError, "Import loop detected" if known_resource_types.watching_file?(file)
 
     watch_file(file)
     @lexer.file = file
   end
 
   [:hostclass, :definition, :node, :nodes?].each do |method|
     define_method(method) do |*args|
       known_resource_types.send(method, *args)
     end
   end
 
   def find_hostclass(namespace, name)
     known_resource_types.find_hostclass(namespace, name)
   end
 
   def find_definition(namespace, name)
     known_resource_types.find_definition(namespace, name)
   end
 
   def import(file)
-    known_resource_types.loader.import_if_possible(file, @lexer.file)
+    known_resource_types.loader.import(file, @lexer.file)
   end
 
   def initialize(env)
     # The environment is needed to know how to find the resource type collection.
     @environment = env.is_a?(String) ? Puppet::Node::Environment.new(env) : env
     initvars
   end
 
   # Initialize or reset all of our variables.
   def initvars
     @lexer = Puppet::Parser::Lexer.new
   end
 
   # Split an fq name into a namespace and name
   def namesplit(fullname)
     ary = fullname.split("::")
     n = ary.pop || ""
     ns = ary.join("::")
     return ns, n
   end
 
   def on_error(token,value,stack)
     if token == 0 # denotes end of file
       value = 'end of file'
     else
       value = "'#{value[:value]}'"
     end
     error = "Syntax error at #{value}"
 
     if brace = @lexer.expected
       error += "; expected '#{brace}'"
     end
 
     except = Puppet::ParseError.new(error)
     except.line = @lexer.line
     except.file = @lexer.file if @lexer.file
 
     raise except
   end
 
   # how should I do error handling here?
   def parse(string = nil)
     if self.file =~ /\.rb$/
       parse_ruby_file
       main = nil
     else
       self.string = string if string
       begin
         @yydebug = false
         main = yyparse(@lexer,:scan)
       rescue Racc::ParseError => except
         error = Puppet::ParseError.new(except)
         error.line = @lexer.line
         error.file = @lexer.file
         error.set_backtrace except.backtrace
         raise error
       rescue Puppet::ParseError => except
         except.line ||= @lexer.line
         except.file ||= @lexer.file
         raise except
       rescue Puppet::Error => except
         # and this is a framework error
         except.line ||= @lexer.line
         except.file ||= @lexer.file
         raise except
       rescue Puppet::DevError => except
         except.line ||= @lexer.line
         except.file ||= @lexer.file
         raise except
       rescue => except
         error = Puppet::DevError.new(except.message)
         error.line = @lexer.line
         error.file = @lexer.file
         error.set_backtrace except.backtrace
         raise error
       end
     end
     # Store the results as the top-level class.
     return Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new('', :code => main)
   ensure
     @lexer.clear
   end
 
   def parse_ruby_file
     require self.file
   end
 
   def string=(string)
     @lexer.string = string
   end
 
   def version
     known_resource_types.version
   end
 
   # Add a new file to be checked when we're checking to see if we should be
   # reparsed.  This is basically only used by the TemplateWrapper to let the
   # parser know about templates that should be parsed.
   def watch_file(filename)
     known_resource_types.watch_file(filename)
   end
 end
diff --git a/lib/puppet/parser/type_loader.rb b/lib/puppet/parser/type_loader.rb
index 8a183f493..140c9f2ca 100644
--- a/lib/puppet/parser/type_loader.rb
+++ b/lib/puppet/parser/type_loader.rb
@@ -1,145 +1,145 @@
 require 'puppet/node/environment'
 
 class Puppet::Parser::TypeLoader
   include Puppet::Node::Environment::Helper
 
-  class Helper < Hash
+  # Helper class that makes sure we don't try to import the same file
+  # more than once from either the same thread or different threads.
+  class Helper
     include MonitorMixin
-    def done_with(item)
-      synchronize do
-        delete(item)[:busy].signal if self.has_key?(item) and self[item][:loader] == Thread.current
-      end
+    def initialize
+      super
+      # These hashes are indexed by filename
+      @state = {} # :doing or :done
+      @thread = {} # if :doing, thread that's doing the parsing
+      @cond_var = {} # if :doing, condition var that will be signaled when done.
     end
-    def owner_of(item)
-      synchronize do
-        if !self.has_key? item
-          self[item] = { :loader => Thread.current, :busy => self.new_cond}
-          :nobody
-        elsif self[item][:loader] == Thread.current
-          :this_thread
+
+    # Execute the supplied block exactly once per file, no matter how
+    # many threads have asked for it to run.  If another thread is
+    # already executing it, wait for it to finish.  If this thread is
+    # already executing it, return immediately without executing the
+    # block.
+    #
+    # Note: the reason for returning immediately if this thread is
+    # already executing the block is to handle the case of a circular
+    # import--when this happens, we attempt to recursively re-parse a
+    # file that we are already in the process of parsing.  To prevent
+    # an infinite regress we need to simply do nothing when the
+    # recursive import is attempted.
+    def do_once(file)
+      need_to_execute = synchronize do
+        case @state[file]
+        when :doing
+          if @thread[file] != Thread.current
+            @cond_var[file].wait
+          end
+          false
+        when :done
+          false
         else
-          flag = self[item][:busy]
-          flag.wait
-          flag.signal
-          :another_thread
+          @state[file] = :doing
+          @thread[file] = Thread.current
+          @cond_var[file] = new_cond
+          true
+        end
+      end
+      if need_to_execute
+        begin
+          yield
+        ensure
+          synchronize do
+            @state[file] = :done
+            @thread.delete(file)
+            @cond_var.delete(file).broadcast
+          end
         end
       end
     end
   end
 
   # Import our files.
   def import(file, current_file = nil)
     return if Puppet[:ignoreimport]
 
     # use a path relative to the file doing the importing
     if current_file
       dir = current_file.sub(%r{[^/]+$},'').sub(/\/$/, '')
     else
       dir = "."
     end
     if dir == ""
       dir = "."
     end
 
     pat = file
     modname, files = Puppet::Parser::Files.find_manifests(pat, :cwd => dir, :environment => environment)
     if files.size == 0
       raise Puppet::ImportError.new("No file(s) found for import of '#{pat}'")
     end
 
     loaded_asts = []
     files.each do |file|
       unless file =~ /^#{File::SEPARATOR}/
         file = File.join(dir, file)
       end
-      unless imported? file
-        @imported[file] = true
+      @loading_helper.do_once(file) do
         loaded_asts << parse_file(file)
       end
     end
     loaded_asts.inject([]) do |loaded_types, ast|
       loaded_types + known_resource_types.import_ast(ast, modname)
     end
   end
 
-  def imported?(file)
-    @imported.has_key?(file)
-  end
-
   def known_resource_types
     environment.known_resource_types
   end
 
   def initialize(env)
     self.environment = env
-    @loaded = {}
-    @loading = Helper.new
-
-    @imported = {}
+    @loading_helper = Helper.new
   end
 
   # Try to load the object with the given fully qualified name.
   def try_load_fqname(type, fqname)
     return nil if fqname == "" # special-case main.
     name2files(fqname).each do |filename|
-      if not loaded?(filename)
-        begin
-          imported_types = import_if_possible(filename)
-          if result = imported_types.find { |t| t.type == type and t.name == fqname }
-            Puppet.debug "Automatically imported #{fqname} from #{filename} into #{environment}"
-            return result
-          end
-        rescue Puppet::ImportError => detail
-          # We couldn't load the item
-          # I'm not convienced we should just drop these errors, but this
-          # preserves existing behaviours.
+      begin
+        imported_types = import(filename)
+        if result = imported_types.find { |t| t.type == type and t.name == fqname }
+          Puppet.debug "Automatically imported #{fqname} from #{filename} into #{environment}"
+          return result
         end
+      rescue Puppet::ImportError => detail
+        # We couldn't load the item
+        # I'm not convienced we should just drop these errors, but this
+        # preserves existing behaviours.
       end
     end
     # Nothing found.
     return nil
   end
 
-  def loaded?(name)
-    @loaded.include?(name)
-  end
-
   def parse_file(file)
     Puppet.debug("importing '#{file}' in environment #{environment}")
     parser = Puppet::Parser::Parser.new(environment)
     parser.file = file
     return parser.parse
   end
 
-  # Utility method factored out of load for handling thread-safety.
-  # This isn't tested in the specs, because that's basically impossible.
-  def import_if_possible(file, current_file = nil)
-    @loaded[file] || begin
-      case @loading.owner_of(file)
-      when :this_thread
-        nil
-      when :another_thread
-        import_if_possible(file,current_file)
-      when :nobody
-        @loaded[file] = import(file,current_file)
-      end
-    ensure
-      @loading.done_with(file)
-    end
-  end
-
   private
 
   # Return a list of all file basenames that should be tried in order
   # to load the object with the given fully qualified name.
   def name2files(fqname)
     result = []
     ary = fqname.split("::")
     while ary.length > 0
       result << ary.join(File::SEPARATOR)
       ary.pop
     end
     return result
   end
 
 end
diff --git a/spec/lib/puppet_spec/files.rb b/spec/lib/puppet_spec/files.rb
index cab4a1e47..52ed903ec 100644
--- a/spec/lib/puppet_spec/files.rb
+++ b/spec/lib/puppet_spec/files.rb
@@ -1,19 +1,20 @@
 require 'fileutils'
+require 'tempfile'
 
 # A support module for testing files.
 module PuppetSpec::Files
   def tmpfile(name)
     source = Tempfile.new(name)
     path = source.path
     source.close!
     $tmpfiles ||= []
     $tmpfiles << path
     path
   end
 
   def tmpdir(name)
     file = tmpfile(name)
     FileUtils.mkdir_p(file)
     file
   end
 end
diff --git a/spec/unit/parser/type_loader_spec.rb b/spec/unit/parser/type_loader_spec.rb
index 58c386d96..cfa68871d 100644
--- a/spec/unit/parser/type_loader_spec.rb
+++ b/spec/unit/parser/type_loader_spec.rb
@@ -1,146 +1,134 @@
 #!/usr/bin/env ruby
 
 require File.dirname(__FILE__) + '/../../spec_helper'
 
 require 'puppet/parser/type_loader'
 require 'puppet_spec/files'
 
 describe Puppet::Parser::TypeLoader do
   include PuppetSpec::Files
 
   before do
     @loader = Puppet::Parser::TypeLoader.new(:myenv)
   end
 
   it "should support an environment" do
     loader = Puppet::Parser::TypeLoader.new(:myenv)
     loader.environment.name.should == :myenv
   end
 
   it "should include the Environment Helper" do
     @loader.class.ancestors.should be_include(Puppet::Node::Environment::Helper)
   end
 
   it "should delegate its known resource types to its environment" do
     @loader.known_resource_types.should be_instance_of(Puppet::Resource::TypeCollection)
   end
 
   describe "when loading names from namespaces" do
     it "should do nothing if the name to import is an empty string" do
       @loader.expects(:name2files).never
       @loader.try_load_fqname(:hostclass, "") { |filename, modname| raise :should_not_occur }.should be_nil
     end
 
     it "should attempt to import each generated name" do
       @loader.expects(:import).with("foo/bar",nil).returns([])
       @loader.expects(:import).with("foo",nil).returns([])
       @loader.try_load_fqname(:hostclass, "foo::bar") { |f| false }
     end
-
-    it "should know when a given name has been loaded" do
-      @loader.expects(:import).with("file",nil).returns([])
-      @loader.try_load_fqname(:hostclass, "file") { |f| true }
-      @loader.should be_loaded("file")
-    end
   end
 
   describe "when importing" do
     before do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.stubs(:find_manifests).returns ["modname", %w{file}]
-      @loader.stubs(:parse_file).returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
+      Puppet::Parser::Parser.any_instance.stubs(:parse).returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
+      Puppet::Parser::Parser.any_instance.stubs(:file=)
     end
 
     it "should return immediately when imports are being ignored" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).never
       Puppet[:ignoreimport] = true
       @loader.import("foo").should be_nil
     end
 
     it "should find all manifests matching the file or pattern" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).with { |pat, opts| pat == "myfile" }.returns ["modname", %w{one}]
       @loader.import("myfile")
     end
 
     it "should use the directory of the current file if one is set" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).with { |pat, opts| opts[:cwd] == "/current" }.returns ["modname", %w{one}]
       @loader.import("myfile", "/current/file")
     end
 
     it "should pass the environment when looking for files" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).with { |pat, opts| opts[:environment] == @loader.environment }.returns ["modname", %w{one}]
       @loader.import("myfile")
     end
 
     it "should fail if no files are found" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).returns [nil, []]
       lambda { @loader.import("myfile") }.should raise_error(Puppet::ImportError)
     end
 
     it "should parse each found file" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).returns ["modname", %w{/one}]
       @loader.expects(:parse_file).with("/one").returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
       @loader.import("myfile")
     end
 
     it "should make each file qualified before attempting to parse it" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).returns ["modname", %w{one}]
       @loader.expects(:parse_file).with("/current/one").returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
       @loader.import("myfile", "/current/file")
     end
 
-    it "should know when a given file has been imported" do
-      Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).returns ["modname", %w{/one}]
-      @loader.import("myfile")
-
-      @loader.should be_imported("/one")
-    end
-
     it "should not attempt to import files that have already been imported" do
       Puppet::Parser::Files.expects(:find_manifests).returns ["modname", %w{/one}]
-      @loader.expects(:parse_file).once.returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
+      Puppet::Parser::Parser.any_instance.expects(:parse).once.returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
       @loader.import("myfile")
 
       # This will fail if it tries to reimport the file.
       @loader.import("myfile")
     end
   end
 
   describe "when parsing a file" do
     before do
       @parser = Puppet::Parser::Parser.new(@loader.environment)
       @parser.stubs(:parse).returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
       @parser.stubs(:file=)
       Puppet::Parser::Parser.stubs(:new).with(@loader.environment).returns @parser
     end
 
     it "should create a new parser instance for each file using the current environment" do
       Puppet::Parser::Parser.expects(:new).with(@loader.environment).returns @parser
       @loader.parse_file("/my/file")
     end
 
     it "should assign the parser its file and parse" do
       @parser.expects(:file=).with("/my/file")
       @parser.expects(:parse).returns(Puppet::Parser::AST::Hostclass.new(''))
       @loader.parse_file("/my/file")
     end
   end
 
   it "should be able to add classes to the current resource type collection" do
     file = tmpfile("simple_file.pp")
     File.open(file, "w") { |f| f.puts "class foo {}" }
     @loader.import(file)
 
     @loader.known_resource_types.hostclass("foo").should be_instance_of(Puppet::Resource::Type)
   end
 
   describe "when deciding where to look for files" do
     { 'foo' => ['foo'],
       'foo::bar' => ['foo/bar', 'foo'],
       'foo::bar::baz' => ['foo/bar/baz', 'foo/bar', 'foo']
     }.each do |fqname, expected_paths|
       it "should look for #{fqname.inspect} in #{expected_paths.inspect}" do
         @loader.instance_eval { name2files(fqname) }.should == expected_paths
       end
     end
   end
 end