%dfs = map {$_ => ()} @pref; #### $VAR1 = { 'brain' => 'lung', 'kidney' => undef }; #### %dfs = map {$_ => []} @pref; #### %dfs = map {$_ => undef} @pref; #### use strict; use warnings; #### Odd number of elements in hash assignment at ... line 6.