$ perl587 -wle 'print for qw(X Y) x 2' Unquoted string "x" may clash with future reserved word at -e line 1. Number found where operator expected at -e line 1, near "x 2" (Do you need to predeclare x?) syntax error at -e line 1, near "qw(X Y) x " Execution of -e aborted due to compilation errors. $ perl588 -wle 'print for qw(X Y) x 2' X Y X Y $