$ pugs -e 'my %hash; %hash[0][0] = 1; my $alias := %hash[0]; say ref $alias; %hash[0] = 5; say ref $alias' Hash Int $ pugs -e 'my %hash; %hash[0][0] = 1; my $ref = %hash[0]; say ref $ref; %hash[0] = 5; say ref $ref' Hash Hash