As noted, eval is your friend here.

However, note that in the specific task you are trying to do , you don't need to use evals. You can do something like:

@searchstrings = qw( cat dog );

if ( scalar grep { $str =~ $_ } @searchstrings == 
     scalar @searchstrings ) {
   print "Found them all!\n";
}
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-----------------------------------------------------
Dr. Michael K. Neylon - mneylon-pm@masemware.com || "You've left the lens cap of your mind on again, Pinky" - The Brain
It's not what you know, but knowing how to find it if you don't know that's important