my %interpret = ( '43 F' => 'Tunnel 1/2 Hr FT', '43 P' => 'Tunnel 1/2 Hr PT', '45 F' => 'Tunnel No Lunch FT', '45 P' => 'Tunnel No Lunch PT', 'F' => 'Full Time No Clock', 'O' => 'On Call No Clock', 'P' => 'Part Time No Clock', 'T' => 'Temporary No Clock', ); my $result = "43 P"; # comes from somewhere else my $interpretation = $interpret{$result}; print $interpretation;