I guess I just don't understand the syntax of the pipe, because the following script (fragment) is giving a strange result: i.e., not what I expected. 
use strict;
my (@dictionary,$query,$term);
@dictionary=('lo/gos','lo/gou','lo/gw|','lo/gon');
$query='lo/gou';
foreach $term (@dictionary) {if($query=~$term) {print "$term\n";}}
This yields:
lo/gou
lo/gw|
which is not at all what I expected. If I invert $query and $term, only 'lo/gou' matches. Can someone help me understand what's going on here? BCE --"Your punctuation skills are insufficient!"

In reply to Am I on the pipe, or what? by BorgCopyeditor

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