title: Create a tuple from a string and a list of strings
body: <p>I need to combine a string along with a list of strings into a tuple so I can use it as a dictionary key.  This is going to be in an inner loop so speed is important.</p>
  
  <p>The list will be small (usually 1, but occasionally 2 or 3 items).</p>
  
  <p>What is the fastest way to do this?</p>
  
  <p>Before:</p>
  
  <pre><code>my_string == "foo"
  my_list == ["bar", "baz", "qux", "etc"]
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>After:</p>
  
  <pre><code>my_tuple == ("foo", "bar", "baz", "qux", "etc")
  </code></pre>
  
  <p>(Note: <code>my_list</code> must not be altered itself).</p>