re = /\w+\s*\n|([\w ]+)\n*(\1\n+)*/m
str = 'we
all
have
a
unique
perspective
on
the
we all have a unique perspective on the
we all have a unique perspective on the
world
around
us
and
believe
it
or
not
world around us and believe it or not
world around us and believe it or not
'
subst = '\\2'
result = str.gsub(re, subst)
# Print the result of the substitution
puts result
Please keep in mind that these code samples are automatically generated and are not guaranteed to work. If you find any syntax errors, feel free to submit a bug report. For a full regex reference for Ruby, please visit: http://ruby-doc.org/core-2.2.0/Regexp.html