&gt;&gt;Why does &#x27;+&#x27; (and friends) get this special form, but not my functions?<p>You are right, take a look at Perl 6 infix operators. You can define your own operator(treat it like a function, as such) and then use it.<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;perl6advent.wordpress.com&#x2F;2013&#x2F;12&#x2F;22&#x2F;day-22-a-catalogue-of-operator-types&#x2F;" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;perl6advent.wordpress.com&#x2F;2013&#x2F;12&#x2F;22&#x2F;day-22-a-catalo...</a>