#!/usr/bin/awk -f BEGIN { split("cul-de-sac",a,"-") split("1-2-3",b,"-") concat_array(a,b,c) for (i in c) { print i,c[i] } } function concat_array(a,b,c, nc) { for (i in a) { c[++nc]=a[i] } for (i in b) { c[++nc]=b[i] } }