my $x = *Time::HiRes::gettimeofday; print "original: ", Time::HiRes::gettimeofday(), "\n"; # ... *Time::HiRes::gettimeofday = sub() { $x; }; # ^^ avoids "Prototype mismatch" print "restored: ", Time::HiRes::gettimeofday(), "\n"; #### original: 117275763140928 restored: *Time::HiRes::gettimeofday