diff -r e505ce0514ff Doc/library/time.rst
--- a/Doc/library/time.rst	Wed Mar 28 02:54:15 2012 +0200
+++ b/Doc/library/time.rst	Wed Mar 28 03:11:13 2012 +0200
@@ -207,6 +207,17 @@ The module defines the following functio
    function.
 
 
+.. function:: hires()
+
+   .. index::
+      single: benchmarking
+
+   Monotonic clock, or fall back to the system clock if the monotonic clock
+   failed or if no monotonic clock is available.
+
+   .. versionadded:: 3.3
+
+
 .. function:: localtime([secs])
 
    Like :func:`gmtime` but converts to local time.  If *secs* is not provided or
@@ -226,20 +237,16 @@ The module defines the following functio
    The earliest date for which it can generate a time is platform-dependent.
 
 
-.. function:: steady(strict=False)
-
-   .. index::
-      single: benchmarking
+.. function:: monotonic()
 
    Return the current time as a floating point number expressed in seconds.
    This clock advances at a steady rate relative to real time and it may not be
    adjusted. The reference point of the returned value is undefined so only the
    difference of consecutive calls is valid.
 
-   If available, a monotonic clock is used. By default,
-   the function falls back to another clock if the monotonic clock failed or is
-   not available. If *strict* is True, raise an :exc:`OSError` on error or
-   :exc:`NotImplementedError` if no monotonic clock is available.
+   Raise an :exc:`OSError` on error.
+
+   Availability: Windows, Mac OS X, Unix.
 
    .. versionadded:: 3.3
 
diff -r e505ce0514ff Modules/timemodule.c
--- a/Modules/timemodule.c	Wed Mar 28 02:54:15 2012 +0200
+++ b/Modules/timemodule.c	Wed Mar 28 03:11:13 2012 +0200
@@ -762,11 +762,17 @@ the local timezone used by methods such 
 should not be relied on.");
 #endif /* HAVE_WORKING_TZSET */
 
+#if ((defined(MS_WINDOWS) && !defined(__BORLANDC__)) \
+     || defined(__APPLE__) \
+     || defined(HAVE_CLOCK_GETTIME))
+#define PYMONOTONIC
+#endif
+
 static PyObject*
-steady_clock(int strict)
+pymonotonic(int fallback)
 {
 #if defined(MS_WINDOWS) && !defined(__BORLANDC__)
-    return win32_clock(!strict);
+    return win32_clock(fallback);
 #elif defined(__APPLE__)
     static mach_timebase_info_data_t timebase;
     uint64_t time;
@@ -804,7 +810,7 @@ steady_clock(int strict)
     int ret;
     struct timespec tp;
 
-    if (strict) {
+    if (!fallback) {
         clk_index = &monotonic_clk_index;
         clk_ids = monotonic_clk_ids;
         clk_ids_len = Py_ARRAY_LENGTH(monotonic_clk_ids);
@@ -825,42 +831,43 @@ steady_clock(int strict)
         if (clk_ids_len <= *clk_index)
             (*clk_index) = -1;
     }
-    if (strict) {
+    if (!fallback) {
         PyErr_SetFromErrno(PyExc_OSError);
         return NULL;
     }
     return floattime();
 #else
-    if (strict) {
-        PyErr_SetString(PyExc_NotImplementedError,
-                        "no steady clock available on your platform");
-        return NULL;
-    }
+    assert(fallback);
     return floattime();
 #endif
 }
 
 static PyObject *
-time_steady(PyObject *self, PyObject *args, PyObject *kwargs)
+time_hires(PyObject *self, PyObject *unused)
 {
-    static char *kwlist[] = {"strict", NULL};
-    int strict = 0;
-
-    if (!PyArg_ParseTupleAndKeywords(
-            args, kwargs, "|i:steady", kwlist,
-            &strict))
-        return NULL;
-
-    return steady_clock(strict);
+    return pymonotonic(0);
 }
 
-PyDoc_STRVAR(steady_doc,
-"steady(strict=False) -> float\n\
+PyDoc_STRVAR(hires_doc,
+"hires() -> float\n\
+\n\
+Monotonic clock or fallback to the system clock.");
+
+#ifdef PYMONOTONIC
+static PyObject *
+time_monotonic(PyObject *self, PyObject *unused)
+{
+    return pymonotonic(1);
+}
+
+PyDoc_STRVAR(monotonic_doc,
+"monotonic() -> float\n\
 \n\
 Return the current time as a floating point number expressed in seconds.\n\
 This clock advances at a steady rate relative to real time and it may not\n\
 be adjusted. The reference point of the returned value is undefined so only\n\
 the difference of consecutive calls is valid.");
+#endif
 
 
 static void
@@ -991,8 +998,6 @@ static PyMethodDef time_methods[] = {
 #ifdef HAVE_MKTIME
     {"mktime",          time_mktime, METH_O, mktime_doc},
 #endif
-    {"steady",          (PyCFunction)time_steady, METH_VARARGS|METH_KEYWORDS,
-                        steady_doc},
 #ifdef HAVE_STRFTIME
     {"strftime",        time_strftime, METH_VARARGS, strftime_doc},
 #endif
@@ -1000,6 +1005,10 @@ static PyMethodDef time_methods[] = {
 #ifdef HAVE_WORKING_TZSET
     {"tzset",           time_tzset, METH_NOARGS, tzset_doc},
 #endif
+#ifdef PYMONOTONIC
+    {"monotonic",       time_monotonic, METH_NOARGS, monotonic_doc},
+#endif
+    {"hires",           time_hires, METH_NOARGS, hires_doc},
     {NULL,              NULL}           /* sentinel */
 };