$ perl -wMstrict -MO=Deparse sub find_symbol { got to here today } __END__ BEGIN { $^W = 1; } use strict; sub find_symbol { 'to'->got('today'->here); } - syntax OK $ perl -wMstrict -MO=Deparse sub find_symbol { I got to here today } __END__ Bareword "today" not allowed while "strict subs" in use at - line 2. - had compilation errors. BEGIN { $^W = 1; } use strict; sub find_symbol { 'got'->I('here'->to('today')); }