#!/usr/bin/perl

use strict;
use warnings;

my $list = "This is my list";
$list =~ /
    ^(.+)   # The 'rest' (Everything before last word)
    \b      # UPDATE (ref [eyespoplikeamosquito] below)
    (\w+)   # Last 'word' (string of contiguous word characters)
    \W*$    # Possible non-word characters at end of string
/x;
my $last = $2;
my $the_rest = $1;
print $the_rest; # "This is my"
print $last; # "list";
<\c>
<p>RESULT:</p>
<c>
This is my list