#!/usr/bin/env perl use strict; use warnings; print sort { ($a =~ /\S+\n$/g)[0] cmp ($b =~ /\S+\n$/g)[0] } __DATA__ 1 2 3 delta 1 2 3 apricot 1 2 3 charlie 1 2 3 bravo 1 2 3 echo 1 2 3 fox