def trydict():
    freqs = {}
    for c in "abracadabra":
        try:
            freqs[c] += 1
        except:
            freqs[c] = 1
#
#
#
if __name__ == '__main__':
    from timeit import Timer
    t = Timer("trydict()", "from __main__ import trydict")
    print t.timeit()

def trydict():
    ...
    print freqs
if __name__ == '__main__':
    trydict()