my @one = ('$apple', '$pear'); my $two = '$orange'; eval "$one[0] = 'hello'"; # evaluates $apple = 'hello' eval "$two = 'goodbye'"; # evaluates $orange = 'goodbye' print "$apple $orange"; # hello goodbye #### use strict; use warnings; my @one = qw($apple $pear); my $two = '$orange'; our ($apple, $pear, $orange); { no strict 'refs'; ${substr $one[0],1} = 'hello'; # ${'apple'} = 'hello'; ${substr $two,1} = 'goodbye'; # ${'orange'} = 'goodbye'; } print "$apple $orange"; # hello goodbye