my $pretend_array = bless {}, 'ARRAY'; is( ref $pretend_array, ref [], 'ref of fake array looks real' ); ok( UNIVERSAL::isa( $pretend_array, 'ARRAY' ), 'UNIVERSAL::isa thinks it is an array' ); ok( $pretend_array->isa( 'ARRAY' ), '$pretend_array->isa( "ARRAY" )' );