diff --git a/Lib/sre_constants.py b/Lib/sre_constants.py
index 6cf69c321b8..417670bf8db 100644
--- a/Lib/sre_constants.py
+++ b/Lib/sre_constants.py
@@ -219,8 +219,7 @@ def makedict(list):
 
 if __name__ == "__main__":
     def dump(f, d, prefix):
-        items = d.items()
-        items.sort(key=lambda a: a[1])
+        items = sorted(d.items(), key=lambda a: a[1])
         for k, v in items:
             f.write("#define %s_%s %s\n" % (prefix, k.upper(), v))
     f = open("sre_constants.h", "w")