DB<52> @list= ("a".."c","DBIC","A".."C","DANCER","a".."c"); DB<53> sub ff { print $_[0]} DB<54> grep { ff(/DBIC/ .. /DANCER/) } @list; 0000000000 DB<55> grep { my $x=(/DBIC/ .. /DANCER/); ff($x) } @list; 12345E0