MacGuffin

Or Mc·Guf·fin

[muh-guhf-in]

noun

1. a plot device in a work of fiction, often a physical object, that drives the plot forward without factoring into the story’s resolution.

   The statue in The Maltese Falcon is the most well-known example of a MacGuffin in cinema.

Word History and Origins

Origin of MacGuffin¹

First recorded in 1935–40; probably from the surname MacGuffin and popularized by Alfred Hitchcock

Example Sentences

Erin’s murder drove the A-plot, often weaving down the road through an obstacle course of misdirects and MacGuffins as the mystery of her life informed her death.

From Salon

In a sense, Trump himself is almost like the MacGuffin, the plot device that gives these characters an excuse to get together.

From Salon

“Night Country” serves a wide array of MacGuffins to turn over, cutting all kinds of Season 1 Easter Eggs into the Christmas hash.

From Salon

Though one might think it not hard to find — just sail until you hit it — a map to the place is the season’s major MacGuffin.

From Los Angeles Times

This sequence is ostensibly there to introduce the film’s MacGuffin, Archimedes Antikythera, a real celestial calculation machine with extraordinary predictive capabilities that in the film is bestowed with some otherworldly powers.

From Washington Times