my ($a, $b); ($a, $b) ||= ('a', 'b', 'c'); # $a unchanged, $b <- 'c' ($a, $b) ||= (1, 2, 3); # $a unchanged, $b unchanged $b = (1, 2, 'x'); # $b <- 'x' $a ||= (3, 4, 5); # $a <- 5