Hi Bart :))

>} >    # Bad substitution
>} >    echo ${${testing[1]}_VALUE}
>} echo ${(e):-\$${testing[1]}_VALUE}
>} The :-\ is a smiley that means "maybe there ought to be a neater way".
>There's also
>	echo ${(P)${:-${testing[1]}_VALUE}}
>but I don't know whether that can be considered "neater."

    Obviously, the Zefram's solution, which has a smiley XDDD

    Seriously: why am I having the 'bad substitution' error? What am
I doing wrong?. This interest me more than the solution.

    And thanks a lot for your solution too :))

    Raśl