python - How to filter list of dictionaries with matching values for a given key

Question

With an interface like a = copyf(dictlist, key, valuelist).

>>> dictlist = [{'first': 'James',
                 'last': 'Joule'},
                {'first': 'James',
                 'last': 'Watt'},
                {'first': 'Christian',
                 'last': 'Doppler'}]
>>> valuelist = ['James', 'John']
>>> x = copyf(dictlist, 'first', valuelist)
>>> print(x)
[{'first': 'James',
  'last': 'Joule'},
 {'first': 'James',
  'last': 'Watt'}]

The dictlist is effectively a csv.DictReader instance.

Answer 1

Update: taking into account the reedited question of the OP:

def copyf(dictlist, key, valuelist):
      return [dictio for dictio in dictlist if dictio[key] in valuelist]