McGuffin
1
9.9
- noun
- /məˈɡʌfɪn/
- Literature
:
MacGuffin
- In many thrillers, a mysterious object often becomes the McGuffin that drives the plot forward.
Examples
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Yeah, Hitchcock reveals the cunning of his device by retounting an anecdote that embodies the original Mcguffin idea.
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And there too are the Reverend Whoopsie, the incomprehensible Scottish Inspector McGuffin, and Sergeant Ken Russell and the case of the Houndsditch Mutilator.
Blog text (18) -
Bella isn't a character; she's a McGuffin, an object to be hoarded, fought over (by men), and fetishized.
Blog text (9) -
The stolen diamond served as a McGuffin that set the entire heist in motion.
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The author cleverly used a forgotten letter as a McGuffin to reveal hidden secrets in the story.
Synonyms
2
9.9
A thing, event or person that starts and keeps a story moving
1
3.7
A part of a story that helps the action move forward
People or ideas others use as unimportant material
How Important
Surface Forms
Etymology
McGuffin was made popular by filmmaker Alfred Hitchcock to name a plot device — an object or event that characters chase to start the story but that is not important by itself. Hitchcock said the name came from an old joke about a mysterious object called a 'McGuffin', so a helpful way to remember it is to think of any small, nameless thing that only exists to get the plot moving.