imho($it->stinks(true));

Yeah, there is a perldoc perlguts, but I ain’t gonna write code that way.   Seriously, if the code isn’t running fast enough for ya, either find a better algorithm or buy a faster box.   Pointers Are Evil.   (At least in this context.)   “The land of diminishing returns” under the best of conditions, and “mysterious error-messages leading to pagers going off at two-thirty” more typically.

Don’t “diddle” code to make it faster:   find a better algorithm.
– Kernighan & Plauger; The Elements of Programming Style.