diff --git a/src/hb-algs.hh b/src/hb-algs.hh
index 53bfa1fc5..f211242db 100644
--- a/src/hb-algs.hh
+++ b/src/hb-algs.hh
@@ -222,6 +222,7 @@ struct hb_pair_t
   T1 first;
   T2 second;
 };
+#define hb_pair_t(T1,T2) hb_pair_t<T1, T2>
 template <typename T1, typename T2> static inline hb_pair_t<T1, T2>
 hb_pair (T1&& a, T2&& b) { return hb_pair_t<T1, T2> (a, b); }