$ echo "one two three four five six seven eight nine A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H I J" | awk '{ $1=$2=$3=""; print $0 }' four five six seven eight nine D E F G H D E F G H I J $ echo "one two three four five six seven eight nine A B C D E F G H A B C D E F G H I J" | perl -ale'$F[0]=$F[1]=$F[2]=""; print "@F"' four five six seven eight nine D E F G H D E F G H I J