Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
MacGuffin

MacGuffin

2 9.9
A thing, event or person that starts and keeps a story moving
  • noun
  • /mækˈɡʌfɪn/
  • Literature
translation icon : MacGuffin
  • The mysterious briefcase acts as a MacGuffin, generating intrigue but lacking any substantive importance.

Examples

  • The drug money is almost irrelevant—a classic example of what Hitchcock called a MacGuffin, a plot device used to move the story along but without having a central role in the message of the film.

    Blog text (24)

  • The prize is nothing but a MacGuffin.

    Blog text (18)

  • And that plot was a MacGuffin to build suspense.

    X (2022)

  • This is one of the all-time great MacGuffins.

    Blog text (16)

  • Ostensibly that's what it is, of course, but the police chase is a MacGuffin for what is really driving this movie: the romantic chase.

    Blog text (16)

  • In the film, the stolen jewels serve as a MacGuffin that keeps the characters moving toward their goals.

  • The ancient manuscript was just a MacGuffin that drove the plot without having any real significance.

Synonyms

McGuffin
vsMacGuffin
  • Literature
1 9.9

An object or event that starts the story but is not important

is the same concept but spelled as an alternate form
plot element
vsMacGuffin
1 3.7

A part of a story that helps the action move forward

is a specific triggering item that moves the plot but lacks intrinsic importance

Surface Forms

MacGuffin singular
MacGuffins plural

Etymology

MacGuffin was made famous by director Alfred Hitchcock as a playful name for any object or goal that starts a story and makes people act. Think of it like a pretend Scottish name with parts Mac- and guffin for something everyone chases, so a MacGuffin is a thing that 'keeps the plot moving' even though the thing itself often has little real importance.