# 123 chars long
a="\
01234567890123456789\
01234567890123456789\
01234567890123456789\
01234567890123456789\
01234567890123456789\
0123456789\
0123456789\
012"

IFS=2; for v in ${#a}; do echo Unquoted:"<$v>"; done
IFS=2; for v in "${#a}"; do echo Quoted:"<$v>"; done