> my @search_strings = ( > '{ \'like\', "%$Term1%" }', > '{ \'like\', "%$Term1%" },{ \'like\', "%$Term2%" }', > ...etc... > ); I don't think you want literal strings in there.. do you mean: my @search_strings = ( [{ 'like', "%$Term1%" }], [{ 'like', "%$Term1%" },{ 'like', "%$Term2%" }], ...etc... ); cheers, J