There it is: $ declare -A map; key='foo$(uname >/dev/tty)bar'; map[$key]= $ echo map["$key"] map[foo$(uname >/dev/tty)bar] $ echo ${map["$key"]}
$ unset map["$key"] Linux Or even: $ declare -A map; key='foo$(read -t 3 </dev/tty foo;echo >/dev/tty bar: $foo)bar'; map[$key]= ... $ unset map["$key"] baz # hitted in 3 seconds bar: baz -- Félix Hauri