diff --git a/rc/base/haskell.kak b/rc/base/haskell.kak
index 6fd781c8..4106b895 100644
--- a/rc/base/haskell.kak
+++ b/rc/base/haskell.kak
@@ -40,13 +40,13 @@ add-highlighter -group /haskell/code regex (?<!['\w])(case|do|else|if|in|let|mdo
 
 # matches uppercase identifiers:  Monad Control.Monad
 # not non-space separated dot:    Just.const
-add-highlighter -group /haskell/code regex \b(\u['\w]*\.)*\u['\w]*(?!['\w])(?![.\l]) 0:variable
+add-highlighter -group /haskell/code regex \b([A-Z]['\w]*\.)*[A-Z]['\w]*(?!['\w])(?![.\l]) 0:variable
 
 # matches infix identifier: `mod` `Apa._T'M`
-add-highlighter -group /haskell/code regex `\b(\u['\w]*\.)*[\w]['\w]*` 0:operator
+add-highlighter -group /haskell/code regex `\b([A-Z]['\w]*\.)*[\w]['\w]*` 0:operator
 # matches imported operators: M.! M.. Control.Monad.>>
 # not operator keywords:      M... M.->
-add-highlighter -group /haskell/code regex \b\u['\w]*\.(?!([~=|:@\\]|<-|->|=>|\.\.|::)[^~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])[~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]+ 0:operator
+add-highlighter -group /haskell/code regex \b[A-Z]['\w]*\.(?!([~=|:@\\]|<-|->|=>|\.\.|::)[^~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\])[~<=>|:!?/.@$*&#%+\^\-\\]+ 0:operator
 # matches dot: .
 # not possibly incomplete import:  a.
 # not other operators:             !. .!
diff --git a/rc/base/html.kak b/rc/base/html.kak
index 385b2667..b1695535 100644
--- a/rc/base/html.kak
+++ b/rc/base/html.kak
@@ -73,9 +73,9 @@ hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?:html|xml) %{
     hook window InsertChar \n -group html-indent html-indent-on-new-line
 }
 
-hook -group html-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!html|xml).* %{ remove-highlighter html }
+hook -group html-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!html)(?!xml).* %{ remove-highlighter html }
 
-hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!html|xml).* %{
+hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!html)(?!xml).* %{
     remove-hooks window html-indent
     remove-hooks window html-hooks
 }
diff --git a/rc/base/lisp.kak b/rc/base/lisp.kak
index 2b806b70..3a448712 100644
--- a/rc/base/lisp.kak
+++ b/rc/base/lisp.kak
@@ -19,7 +19,7 @@ add-highlighter -group /lisp/string  fill string
 add-highlighter -group /lisp/comment fill comment
 
 add-highlighter -group /lisp/code regex \b(nil|true|false)\b 0:value
-add-highlighter -group /lisp/code regex (((\Q***\E)|(///)|(\Q+++\E)){1,3})|(1[+-])|(<|>|<=|=|>=|) 0:operator
+add-highlighter -group /lisp/code regex (((\Q***\E)|(///)|(\Q+++\E)){1,3})|(1[+-])|(<|>|<=|=|>=) 0:operator
 add-highlighter -group /lisp/code regex \b(([':]\w+)|([*]\H+[*]))\b 0:variable
 add-highlighter -group /lisp/code regex \b(def[a-z]+|if|do|let|lambda|catch|and|assert|while|def|do|fn|finally|let|loop|new|quote|recur|set!|throw|try|var|case|if-let|if-not|when|when-first|when-let|when-not|(cond(->|->>)?))\b 0:keyword
 
diff --git a/rc/base/markdown.kak b/rc/base/markdown.kak
index 8d50cad8..b992b83e 100644
--- a/rc/base/markdown.kak
+++ b/rc/base/markdown.kak
@@ -110,7 +110,7 @@ add-highlighter -group /markdown/content regex (\A|\n\n)[^\n]+\n-{2,}\h*\n\h*$ 0
 # Atx-style header
 add-highlighter -group /markdown/content regex ^(#+)(\h+)([^\n]+) 1:header
 
-add-highlighter -group /markdown/content regex ^\h?+((?:[\s\t]+)?[-\*])\h+[^\n]*(\n\h+[^-\*]\S+[^\n]*\n)*$ 0:list 1:bullet
+add-highlighter -group /markdown/content regex ^\h?((?:[\s\t]+)?[-\*])\h+[^\n]*(\n\h+[^-\*]\S+[^\n]*\n)*$ 0:list 1:bullet
 add-highlighter -group /markdown/content regex ^([-=~]+)\n[^\n\h].*?\n\1$ 0:block
 add-highlighter -group /markdown/content regex \B\+[^\n]+?\+\B 0:mono
 add-highlighter -group /markdown/content regex \B\*[^\n]+?\*\B 0:italic
diff --git a/rc/base/perl.kak b/rc/base/perl.kak
index 7ba1e14b..45c70c72 100644
--- a/rc/base/perl.kak
+++ b/rc/base/perl.kak
@@ -12,10 +12,10 @@ hook global BufCreate .*\.p[lm] %{
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
 add-highlighter -group / regions -default code perl \
-    command '(?<!\$|\\)`' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*` '' \
-    double_string '(?<!\$|\\)"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' \
-    single_string "(?<!\\$|\\\\)'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' \
-    comment '(?<!\$|\\)#' $ ''
+    command '(?<!\$)(?<!\\)`' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*` '' \
+    double_string '(?<!\$)(?<!\\)"' (?<!\\)(\\\\)*" '' \
+    single_string "(?<!\\$)(?<!\\\\)'" (?<!\\)(\\\\)*' '' \
+    comment '(?<!\$)(?<!\\)#' $ ''
 
 add-highlighter -group /perl/command fill magenta
 add-highlighter -group /perl/double_string fill string
diff --git a/rc/base/ruby.kak b/rc/base/ruby.kak
index 0b1f9ff0..0c15c5c5 100644
--- a/rc/base/ruby.kak
+++ b/rc/base/ruby.kak
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ add-highlighter -group /ruby/comment fill comment
 
 add-highlighter -group /ruby/literal fill meta
 
-add-highlighter -group /ruby/code regex \b([A-Za-z]\w*:(?=[^:]))|([$@][A-Za-z]\w*)|((?<=[^:]):(([A-Za-z]\w*[=?!]?)|(\[\]=?)))|([A-Z]\w*|^|\h)\K::(?=[A-Z]) 0:variable
+add-highlighter -group /ruby/code regex \b([A-Za-z]\w*:(?!:))|([$@][A-Za-z]\w*)|((?<!:):(([A-Za-z]\w*[=?!]?)|(\[\]=?)))|([A-Z]\w*|^|\h)\K::(?=[A-Z]) 0:variable
 
 %sh{
     # Grammar
diff --git a/rc/core/asciidoc.kak b/rc/core/asciidoc.kak
index 4605c65f..727be794 100644
--- a/rc/core/asciidoc.kak
+++ b/rc/core/asciidoc.kak
@@ -19,9 +19,9 @@ add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex (\A|\n\n)[^\n]+\n~{2,}\h*$ 0:header
 add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex (\A|\n\n)[^\n]+\n\^{2,}\h*$ 0:header
 add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex ^\h+([-\*])\h+[^\n]*(\n\h+[^-\*]\S+[^\n]*)*$ 0:list 1:bullet
 add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex ^([-=~]+)\n[^\n\h].*?\n\1$ 0:block
-add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex (?<!\w)(?:\+[^\n]+?\+|`[^\n]+?`)(?!\w) 0:mono
-add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex (?<!\w)_[^\n]+?_(?!\w) 0:italic
-add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex (?<!\w)\*[^\n]+?\*(?!\w) 0:bold
+add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex \B(?:\+[^\n]+?\+|`[^\n]+?`)\B 0:mono
+add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex \B_[^\n]+?_\B 0:italic
+add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex \B\*[^\n]+?\*\B 0:bold
 add-highlighter -group /asciidoc regex ^:[-\w]+: 0:meta
 
 # Commands
diff --git a/rc/core/c-family.kak b/rc/core/c-family.kak
index 8f89c3d1..b28e0c98 100644
--- a/rc/core/c-family.kak
+++ b/rc/core/c-family.kak
@@ -261,7 +261,7 @@ hook global WinSetOption filetype=(c|cpp|objc) %[
     alias window alt c-family-alternative-file
 ]
 
-hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!(c|cpp|objc)$).* %[
+hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!c)(?!cpp)(?!objc).* %[
     remove-hooks window c-family-hooks
     remove-hooks window c-family-indent
     remove-hooks window c-family-insert
@@ -270,13 +270,13 @@ hook global WinSetOption filetype=(?!(c|cpp|objc)$).* %[
 ]
 
 hook -group c-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=c %[ add-highlighter ref c ]
-hook -group c-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!c$).* %[ remove-highlighter c ]
+hook -group c-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!c).* %[ remove-highlighter c ]
 
 hook -group cpp-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=cpp %[ add-highlighter ref cpp ]
-hook -group cpp-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!cpp$).* %[ remove-highlighter cpp ]
+hook -group cpp-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!cpp).* %[ remove-highlighter cpp ]
 
 hook -group objc-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=objc %[ add-highlighter ref objc ]
-hook -group objc-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!objc$).* %[ remove-highlighter objc ]
+hook -group objc-highlight global WinSetOption filetype=(?!objc).* %[ remove-highlighter objc ]
 
 decl -docstring %{control the type of include guard to be inserted in empty headers
 Can be one of the following:
diff --git a/rc/core/kakrc.kak b/rc/core/kakrc.kak
index 1fa8852f..1d33d8a2 100644
--- a/rc/core/kakrc.kak
+++ b/rc/core/kakrc.kak
@@ -71,8 +71,8 @@ def -hidden kak-indent-on-new-line %{
         try %{ exec -draft \; K <a-&> }
         # cleanup trailing whitespaces from previous line
         try %{ exec -draft k <a-x> s \h+$ <ret> d }
-        # indent after line ending with %[[:punct:]]
-        try %{ exec -draft k <a-x> <a-k> \%[[:punct:]]$ <ret> j <a-gt> }
+        # indent after line ending with %[\W\S]
+        try %{ exec -draft k <a-x> <a-k> \%[\W\S]$ <ret> j <a-gt> }
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/rc/extra/haml.kak b/rc/extra/haml.kak
index 75169e43..11e525b0 100644
--- a/rc/extra/haml.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/haml.kak
@@ -12,11 +12,11 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](haml) %{
 # ‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾‾
 
 add-highlighter -group / regions -default code haml                                                         \
-    comment ^\h*/                                                                 $            '' \
+    comment ^\h*/                                                                $             '' \
     eval    ^\h*%([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)([#.][A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?\{\K|#\{\K (?=\})        \{ \
-    eval    ^\h*[=-]\K                                                           (?=[^|]\n)    '' \
-    coffee  ^\h*:coffee\K                                                        (?=^\h*[%=-]) '' \
-    sass    ^\h*:sass\K                                                          (?=^\h*[%=-]) ''
+    eval    ^\h*[=-]\K                                                           (?<!\|)(?=\n) '' \
+    coffee  ^\h*:coffee\K                                                        ^\h*[%=-]\K   '' \
+    sass    ^\h*:sass\K                                                          ^\h*[%=-]\K   ''
 
 # Filters
 # http://haml.info/docs/yardoc/file.REFERENCE.html#filters
diff --git a/rc/extra/php.kak b/rc/extra/php.kak
index c317e473..606071df 100644
--- a/rc/extra/php.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/php.kak
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ add-highlighter -group /php/code regex \$\w* 0:variable
 add-highlighter -group /php/code regex \b(false|null|parent|self|this|true)\b 0:value
 add-highlighter -group /php/code regex "-?[0-9]*\.?[0-9]+" 0:value
 add-highlighter -group /php/code regex \b((string|int|bool)|[A-Z][a-z].*?)\b 0:type
-add-highlighter -group /php/code regex (?<=\W)/[^\n/]+/[gimy]* 0:meta
+add-highlighter -group /php/code regex \B/[^\n/]+/[gimy]* 0:meta
 
 # Keywords are collected at
 # http://php.net/manual/en/reserved.keywords.php
diff --git a/rc/extra/pug.kak b/rc/extra/pug.kak
index 5c7d6d00..6afd8382 100644
--- a/rc/extra/pug.kak
+++ b/rc/extra/pug.kak
@@ -17,7 +17,7 @@ hook global BufCreate .*[.](pug|jade) %{
 
 add-highlighter -group / regions -default code pug                 \
     text          ^\h*\|\s     $                      '' \
-    text          '^\h*([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?(#[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?((?:\.[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)*)?(?<=\S)\h+\K.*' $ '' \
+    text          '^\h*([A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?(#[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)?((?:\.[A-Za-z][A-Za-z0-9_-]*)*)?(?<!\t)(?<! )(?<!\n)\h+\K.*' $ '' \
     javascript    ^\h*[-=!]    $                      '' \
     double_string '"'          (?:(?<!\\)(\\\\)*"|$)  '' \
     single_string "'"          (?:(?<!\\)(\\\\)*'|$)  '' \