@s = ("foo bar baz") x 4; $bar = "rab"; %bar = (1 => "eek"); @bar = (undef, 'oof'); $s[0] =~ s{(bar)} {$bar\{1\}}; $s[1] =~ s{(bar)} [$bar\{1\}]; $s[2] =~ s{(bar)} {$bar\[1\]}; $s[3] =~ s{(bar)} [$bar\[1\]]; for $i (0..3) { print "$i -> '$s[$i]'\n"; }