Clever but I think: >> ar = [["a", 100], ["b", 200], ["c", 300], ["d", 400]] => [["a", 100], ["b", 200], ["c", 300], ["d", 400]] >> Hash[ar] => {"a"=>100, "

Clever but I think: >> ar = [["a", 100], ["b", 200], ["c", 300], ["d", 400]] => [["a", 100], ["b", 200], ["c", 300], ["d", 400]] >> Hash[ar] => {"a"=>100, "b"=>200, "c"=>300, "d"=>400} Is going to be a bit more practical (and readable) most of the time...