diff --git a/chef/lib/chef/shef/ext.rb b/chef/lib/chef/shef/ext.rb
index <HASH>..<HASH> 100644
--- a/chef/lib/chef/shef/ext.rb
+++ b/chef/lib/chef/shef/ext.rb
@@ -275,6 +275,14 @@ class Object
   
 end
 
+class String
+  undef_method :version
+end
+
+class NilClass
+  undef_method :version
+end
+
 class Chef
   class Recipe
try to limit the damage from monkey patching

it would be awesome if IRB wasn't hardcoded to actively thwart attempts
to extend it for other purposes :/