Given $delim = = 'A -3 C -4 B'; $set->{'key2'} => ['A -4 B','B -4 C','C -4 A','A -4 B'], RESULT: key2 [A -4 B] [B -4 C] / [A -4 B] [B -4 C] / [C -4 A] [A -4 B] # only this is correct