A : separates the event designator from the word designator. It can be omitted if the word designator begins with a ^, $, * or %. Words are numbered from the beginning of the line, with the first word being denoted by a 0 (zero).
0 (zero)
n
^
$
%
?string?
search.
x-y
-y
Abbreviates 0-y
.
*
1-$
.
It is not an error to use * if there is just one word in the event.
The empty string is returned in that case.
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