MacGuffin
noun
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Alfred Hitchcock and MacGuffin
The first person to use MacGuffin as a word for a plot device was Alfred Hitchcock. He borrowed it from an old shaggy-dog story in which some passengers on a train interrogate a fellow passenger carrying a large, strange-looking package. The fellow says the package contains a "MacGuffin," which, he explains, is used to catch tigers in the Scottish Highlands. When the group protests that there are no tigers in the Highlands, the passenger replies, "Well, then, this must not be a MacGuffin." Hitchcock apparently appreciated the way the mysterious package holds the audience's attention and builds suspense. He recognized that an audience anticipating a solution to a mystery will continue to follow the story even if the initial interest-grabber turns out to be irrelevant.
Examples of MacGuffin in a Sentence
Liz Shackleton, Deadline, 5 June 2025
This is verging on sci-fi dystopian stuff, yet ultimately The Entity is just a buzzword-y MacGuffin that Ethan needs to put in a box against all odds.
—James Grebey, Vulture, 23 May 2025
The MacGuffin of all MacGuffins, we're told the Rabbit's Foot is some sort of powerful, potentially destructive force, but its exact nature is never explained in the film.
—EW.com, 21 May 2025
This auto-fiction pretends an ultra-progressive perspective, but Marcus is nothing more than an opportunistic MacGuffin, another PBS staple.
—Armond White, National Review, 21 May 2025
See All Example Sentences for MacGuffin
Cite this Entry
“MacGuffin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/MacGuffin. Accessed 19 Jun. 2025.
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