McGuffinn.

Brit.

/məˈɡʌfɪn/, U.S.

/məˈɡəf(ə)n/

Forms: 1900s– MacGuffin, 1900s– Maguffin, 1900s– maguffin, 1900s– McGuffin.

Origin: Probably from a proper name. Etymon: proper name McGuffin.

Etymology: Probably < the surname McGuffin (see Mac n.¹), allegedly borrowed by Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980), English film director, from a humorous story involving a diversion of this kind: see quot. 1967. Probably unrelated to guffin n.

In a film (now also in a novel or other form of narrative fiction): a particular event, object, factor, etc., presented as being of great significance to a character or characters, but in the end proving illusory.

ΘΚΠ

society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > significant event, object, etc.

McGuffin1939

society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > [noun] > plot > specific part of

McGuffin1939

1939 A. Hitchcock Lect. at Univ. Columbia 30 Mar. (Typescript, N.Y. Mus. Mod. Art: Dept. Film & Video) In regard to the tune, we have a name in the studio, and we call it the ‘MacGuffin’. It is the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story. In crook stories it is always the necklace and in spy stories it is always the papers. We just try to be a little more original.

1949 Theatre Arts May 34/2 An outgrowth of this near-surrealism of detail is what Hitchcock chooses to call the McGuffin. The McGuffin is the gimmick, an object which holds a hidden key to the plot.

1967 A. Hitchcock in F. Truffaut Hitchcock vi. 98 The theft of secret documents [in Kipling's stories] was the original MacGuffin. So the ‘MacGuffin’ is the term we use to cover all that sort of thing: to steal plans or documents, or discover a secret, it doesn't matter what it is... You may be wondering where the term originated. It might be a Scottish name, taken from a story about two men in a train.

1980 Jewish Chron. 25 Apr. 10/2 In The Formula by Steve Shagan..the McGuffin is a method of producing artificial oil that will render OPEC redundant.

1984 Washington Post 7 Aug. d6/1 Here is a thriller that transcends the ‘maguffin’, Alfred Hitchcock's word for the item everybody wants—the plans, the isotope, the negatives, the cipher.

2005 M. Walker Hitchcock's Motifs ii. 297 Even though the uranium McGuffin is, in fact, the secret of the atomic bomb,..the audience is simply not interested: it is the personal story which counts.

This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022).

单词	mcguffin
释义	McGuffinn. Brit. /məˈɡʌfɪn/, U.S. /məˈɡəf(ə)n/ Forms: 1900s– MacGuffin, 1900s– Maguffin, 1900s– maguffin, 1900s– McGuffin. Origin: Probably from a proper name. Etymon: proper name McGuffin. Etymology: Probably < the surname McGuffin (see Mac n.¹), allegedly borrowed by Alfred Hitchcock (1899–1980), English film director, from a humorous story involving a diversion of this kind: see quot. 1967. Probably unrelated to guffin n. In a film (now also in a novel or other form of narrative fiction): a particular event, object, factor, etc., presented as being of great significance to a character or characters, but in the end proving illusory. ΘΚΠ society > leisure > the arts > literature > prose > narrative or story > fiction > [noun] > significant event, object, etc. McGuffin1939 society > leisure > the arts > performance arts > cinematography > a film > [noun] > plot > specific part of McGuffin1939 1939 A. Hitchcock Lect. at Univ. Columbia 30 Mar. (Typescript, N.Y. Mus. Mod. Art: Dept. Film & Video) In regard to the tune, we have a name in the studio, and we call it the ‘MacGuffin’. It is the mechanical element that usually crops up in any story. In crook stories it is always the necklace and in spy stories it is always the papers. We just try to be a little more original. 1949 Theatre Arts May 34/2 An outgrowth of this near-surrealism of detail is what Hitchcock chooses to call the McGuffin. The McGuffin is the gimmick, an object which holds a hidden key to the plot. 1967 A. Hitchcock in F. Truffaut Hitchcock vi. 98 The theft of secret documents [in Kipling's stories] was the original MacGuffin. So the ‘MacGuffin’ is the term we use to cover all that sort of thing: to steal plans or documents, or discover a secret, it doesn't matter what it is... You may be wondering where the term originated. It might be a Scottish name, taken from a story about two men in a train. 1980 Jewish Chron. 25 Apr. 10/2 In The Formula by Steve Shagan..the McGuffin is a method of producing artificial oil that will render OPEC redundant. 1984 Washington Post 7 Aug. d6/1 Here is a thriller that transcends the ‘maguffin’, Alfred Hitchcock's word for the item everybody wants—the plans, the isotope, the negatives, the cipher. 2005 M. Walker Hitchcock's Motifs ii. 297 Even though the uranium McGuffin is, in fact, the secret of the atomic bomb,..the audience is simply not interested: it is the personal story which counts. This entry has been updated (OED Third Edition, March 2001; most recently modified version published online March 2022). < n.1939
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