$ perl -Mdiagnostics -Mstrict -e " my $f = 'asdf'; $$f{3}++; Can't use string ("asdf") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use at -e line 1 (#1) (F) Only hard references are allowed by "strict refs". Symbolic references are disallowed. See perlref. Uncaught exception from user code: Can't use string ("asdf") as a HASH ref while "strict refs" in use at -e line 1. at -e line 1