Regexp::Debugger can be elucidating. And remember ? making something non-greedy changes from "leftmost longest" to "leftmost shortest which still matches"; because the zero-space assertion follows it's got to backtrack and keep expanding until that's satisfied (by a transition from word-char to not-word-char).

The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.
The cake is a lie.

In reply to Re: What does \b{wb} in a regex do? by Fletch
in thread What does \b{wb} in a regex do? by nysus

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