Try something like: 
sub trim {
  my (@out) = @_;
  
  foreach (@out) {
    s/^\s+//;
    s/\s+$//;
  }
  return wantarray ? @out : $out[0];
}

[download]
I think this avoids your problem.

In reply to Re: Is silent use of $_ for empty argument lists reasonable for "shortcut" functions? by enemyofthestate
in thread Is silent use of $_ for empty argument lists reasonable for "shortcut" functions? by Wyrdweaver

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