en_btr_backend/app/Handlers/LexiconEntryTrait.php

<?php
namespace App\Handlers;

/**
 * LexiconEntryTrait.php
 *
 * @author: Leonard Smith <leonard@acornwebconsultants.com>
 * Date: 10/6/20
 * Time: 8:34 PM
 */
trait LexiconEntryTrait
{
    /**
     * Extract the lexeme and the commentary portion into separate variables
     *
     * @param $entry
     * @return array
     */
    public function parseEntry($entry)
    {
        $lexeme = '';
        $commentary = '';

        $n = 0;
        foreach(preg_split('~[\r\n]+~', $entry) as $line){
            if(empty($line) or ctype_space($line)) continue; // skip only spaces

            if ($n === 0) {
                $lexeme = ltrim($line, '#');
            } else {
                $commentary .= $line . "\n";
            }
            $n++;
        }

        return [$lexeme, $commentary];
    }
}