=over =item $POSTMATCH =item $' X X X X The string following whatever was matched by the last successful pattern match (not counting any matches hidden within a BLOCK or C enclosed by the current BLOCK). Example: local $_ = 'abcdefghi'; /def/; print "$`:$&:$'\n"; # prints abc:def:ghi See L above for the serious performance implications of using this variable (even once) in your code. This variable is read-only and dynamically-scoped. Mnemonic: C often follows a quoted string. =back