MacGuffin
/məˈɡʌf.ɪn/ noun, proper noun
Forms MacGuffins McGuffin
- noun (narratology) A plot element or other device used to catch the audience's attention and maintain suspense, but whose exact nature has fairly little influence over the storyline.
- proper noun A surname.
Synonyms
Etymology
Used by Alfred Hitchcock, as an arbitrary Scottish surname. The actual name comes from Ulster: Mc- (“son of”) + Irish dubh (“black”) + Irish Fionn (literally “fairheaded”).
See also Wikipedia's MacGuffin § History and use.
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 — from the Wiktionary entry “MacGuffin”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details