$s = "I want to only show the first 100 characters or so of a string that has more than 100, but I don't want to split it in the middle of a word, so is there a way to do it instead of this:";;

print $string =~ m[(^.{0,100})\s];;
I want to only show the first 100 characters or so of a string that has more than 100, but I don't

print $s =~ m[(^.{0,$_})\s] for 20 .. 50;;
I want to only show
I want to only show
I want to only show
I want to only show the
I want to only show the
I want to only show the
I want to only show the
I want to only show the
I want to only show the
I want to only show the first
I want to only show the first
I want to only show the first
I want to only show the first
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100
I want to only show the first 100 characters
I want to only show the first 100 characters
I want to only show the first 100 characters
I want to only show the first 100 characters or
I want to only show the first 100 characters or
I want to only show the first 100 characters or
I want to only show the first 100 characters or so