McGuffin

MacGuffin

/ (məˈɡʌfɪn) /


noun
  1. an object or event in a book or a film that serves as the impetus for the plot

Origin of McGuffin

1
C20: coined (c. 1935) by Sir Alfred Hitchcock

Words Nearby McGuffin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012