With my proposal, using := to init (similar to how in math parlance, the := is used for defining something for the first time)
Dic = {} # format fruit:count
For fruit in fruits:
Dic[fruit]:= 0
Dic[fruit]+=1
To my eye, this does not look like a conditional assignment. And how would an operator like this work with objects other than dicts?
Besides, it's easier and clearer to write this as
dic = defaultdict(int)
for fruit in fruits:
dic[fruit] += 1
--- Bruce