To add to what blakem said, \Q is the "begin" and \E is the "end". He left off the \E because the $var was the last thing in your pattern. But in the general case, you'll use both. e.g. m/prefix\Q$var\Esuffix/. Do that anytime you have a $var in a pattern that you want taken literally, as opposed to containing more regex instructions.

$s="a*"; /$s/; # same as /a*/, finds a string of a's /\Q$s\E/; # same as /a\*/, literally matches "a*" characters.

In reply to Re: newbie quoting question by John M. Dlugosz
in thread newbie quoting question by Anonymous Monk

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