diff --git a/ChangeLog b/ChangeLog
index de9da043b..51c888f9c 100644
--- a/ChangeLog
+++ b/ChangeLog
@@ -1,3 +1,6 @@
+	* Fixed bug #850931 as well as several other minor bugs in
+	Utilities.re.
+	
 	* Fixed bug #851254, Factoids.whatis didn't work on numeric keys.
 
 	* Added the ability to turn on/off the showing of ids in FunDB
diff --git a/plugins/Utilities.py b/plugins/Utilities.py
index 019c31a73..4e07ca02d 100644
--- a/plugins/Utilities.py
+++ b/plugins/Utilities.py
@@ -144,14 +144,13 @@ class Utilities(callbacks.Privmsg):
         except ValueError, e:
             try:
                 f = utils.perlReToReplacer(regexp)
-                substitution = True
             except ValueError, e:
                 irc.error(msg, 'Invalid regexp: %s' % e.args[0])
                 return
             if f is None:
                 irc.error(msg, 'Invalid regexp: %s' % e.args[0])
                 return
-        if f(''): # It matches the empty string.
+        if f('') and len(f(' ')) > len(f(''))+1: # Matches the empty string.
             s = 'You probably don\'t want to match the empty string.'
             irc.error(msg, s)
         else:
diff --git a/src/utils.py b/src/utils.py
index ca9ab4132..376788c71 100755
--- a/src/utils.py
+++ b/src/utils.py
@@ -236,7 +236,10 @@ def perlReToReplacer(s):
         (kind, regexp, replace, flags) = nonEscapedSlashes.split(s)
     except ValueError: # Unpack list of wrong size.
         raise ValueError, 'Must be of the form s/.../.../'
+    regexp = regexp.replace('\x08', r'\b')
     replace = replace.replace('\\/', '/')
+    for i in xrange(10):
+        replace = replace.replace(chr(i), r'\%s' % i)
     if kind != 's':
         raise ValueError, 'Invalid kind: must be "s"'
     g = False
diff --git a/test/test_Utilities.py b/test/test_Utilities.py
index 421407503..27b15d8c2 100644
--- a/test/test_Utilities.py
+++ b/test/test_Utilities.py
@@ -76,6 +76,9 @@ class UtilitiesTestCase(PluginTestCase, PluginDocumentation):
     def testReNotEmptyString(self):
         self.assertError('re s//foo/g blah')
 
+    def testReWorksWithJustCaret(self):
+        self.assertResponse('re s/^/foo/ bar', 'foobar')
+
     def testReNoEscapingUnpackListOfWrongSize(self):
         self.assertNotRegexp('re foo bar baz', 'unpack list of wrong size')
 
diff --git a/test/test_utils.py b/test/test_utils.py
index ac2bf9227..618a4705a 100644
--- a/test/test_utils.py
+++ b/test/test_utils.py
@@ -156,6 +156,12 @@ class UtilsTest(unittest.TestCase):
         self.assertEqual(f('CATFISH'), 'dogFISH')
         f = utils.perlReToReplacer('s/foo/foo\/bar/')
         self.assertEqual(f('foo'), 'foo/bar')
+        f = utils.perlReToReplacer('s/^/foo/')
+        self.assertEqual(f('bar'), 'foobar')
+
+    def testPerlReToReplacerBug850931(self):
+        f = utils.perlReToReplacer('s/\b(\w+)\b/\1./g')
+        self.assertEqual(f('foo bar baz'), 'foo. bar. baz.')
 
     def testFindBinaryInPath(self):
         if os.name == 'posix':