Hrm. Is there anything wrong with: @array = grep { not /$pattern/ } @array;

Update: I guess I didn't register the parts of your post where you sort of talk about that. :) But I still think it's the clearest, unless you're wanting to remove just one element, even if it isn't the most efficient in many situtations. I tend to only bother remembering the clear idioms, as you can always look up the efficient ones if you really need to.

bbfu
Black flowers blossum
Fearless on my breath