Etymology

MacGuffin

M3A1C3G2U1F4F4I1N1

Today it means: 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. Full definition →

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The story

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.

Etymology from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.