my $_ = '1'; /(.)/; print "before: \$1 = $1\n"; for (2..4) { print "\$_ = $_\n"; print "first: \$1 = $1\n"; /(3)/; print "second: \$1 = $1\n"; } continue {} print "after: \$1 = $1\n"; #### before: $1 = 1 $_ = 2 first: $1 = 1 second: $1 = 1 $_ = 3 first: $1 = 1 second: $1 = 3 $_ = 4 first: $1 = 1 second: $1 = 1 after: $1 = 1