Make Your Point > Archived Issues > MCGUFFIN
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pronounce
MCGUFFIN:
Say it "muh GUFF in."
To hear it, click here.
connect this word to others:
From Teen Titans Go!:
Raven: One night, the prince betrayed the king and tried to steal the sandwich. The old king was heartbroken. He realized the sandwich was too powerful. It had to be destroyed. So, the ingredients were hidden on the far corners of the world, watched by the fierce Sandwich Guardians. Legend says... it can be reforged if all the ingredients are brought together.
Cyborg: We gots to get that sandwich.
Any time the characters gots to get that sandwich--or, that anything, really--you can refer to it as a McGuffin. It's some object that the characters are chasing after, some reason to go on an adventure, some handy-dandy excuse for a plot.
In other words, a McGuffin is a type of narrative device. A storytelling convenience.
Another narrative device we've checked out is a de__________na: a person or thing that shows up at just the right time and completely fixes the problem, ending the story. It's the opposite of a McGuffin, you might say, since it suddenly ends the adventure, whereas a McGuffin suddenly starts it. Can you recall that term? It's three words long.
(To reveal any word with blanks, give it a click.)
definition:
"McGuffin" is a last name. And, it's any object that the characters in a story are desperately trying to get.
If you're happy with that definition, you can skip the whole backstory below. And if you're curious, keep reading!
We can credit Alfred Hitchcock for popularizing the word "McGuffin," and maybe for inventing it. Here's how he defined it, in a 1939 lecture:
"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."
The term's origin is a bit mysterious, but Hitchcock may have been inspired by some version or another of a joke about a mongoose first printed in an 1883 newspaper, possibly changing the word "mongoose" to the last name "McGuffin." As reported by Quote Investigator, here's the 1883 joke:
It was a quiet-looking little man, with a frayed mustache, who got on a Cass avenue car the other night; and he had a square wooden box under his arm, with rows of holes punched in the top, which immediately attracted the attention of a corpulent passenger, with a cotton umbrella, who was sitting near the door.
“I suppose you have some wild animal in that box?” said he, tapping it with his umbrella.
“Yes,” replied the other, shrinking into a corner.
“You have a museum somewhere, maybe?”
“No,” answered the small man, looking down at his feet.
“Well, might I ask what you have in that box?” questioned the fat man, his curiosity increasing.
“Certainly,” murmured the man with the box, looking like the chief mourner at a funeral.
There was a dead silence for several minutes, when the corpulent man spoke up somewhat impatiently, “Well, what is it?”
“It is a mongoose,” said the melancholy man.
“A mongoose—what’s that?” asked the man with the umbrella, leaning over and eyeing the box curiously.
“It is an animal that exterminates snakes," replied the small man, pulling his hat over his eyes.
“And what do you propose to do with it?” asked the fat man, opening his eyes until they looked like watch-dials.
“I don’t propose to do anything with it,” answered the other nervously. “It is for a friend of mine who has the delirium-tremens, and wants something to kill the snakes he sees.”
“But they aren’t real snakes, you know!” exclaimed the fat man, opening his mouth until the other could see his cork-soles.
“No, that’s true,” said the quiet man, getting up and putting the box under his coat: “but then this isn’t a real mongoose, you see!” And he evaporated out of the door, while the fat man stared thoughtfully out of the window at the flickering gas-lamps.
The point being, a McGuffin is a fictional solution for a fictional problem: a thing for the characters to want, and chase, and therefore a reason for the story to exist.
grammatical bits:
Part of speech:
Noun, the countable kind: "The story's McGuffin is a duffel bag full of mysterious papers, stuffed into a locker in a train station way across town."
Other forms:
Sometimes you'll see it spelled "MacGuffin" or "Maguffin."
You can pluralize it: "McGuffins."
Many writers have used an adjective, "McGuffinish." It's not in dictionaries yet, but never let that stop you!
And a couple writers have used a verb, "McGuffin-ize." I propose we delete the hyphen and simply McGuffinize things.
how to use it:
This word is rare, but wonderfully specific and deeply funny.
So, if your context will make its meaning clear, then don't hold back: talk about the McGuffin in a book, a movie, or a TV episode, especially when you want to emphasize how it really matters to the characters--but not the audience.
examples:
"Swords and lightsabers are both symbols of status and power. They are the ultimate McGuffins."
— John Man, Salon, 19 December 2015
"Its McGuffin – a jewel-studded knife called 'The Heart of Afghanistan,' with the power to determine who controls the country."
— John O'Connell, The Guardian, 10 August 2012
has this page helped you understand "McGuffin"?
study it:
Explain the meaning of "McGuffin" without saying "the briefcase full of money," "the Gem of Amara," "the philosopher's stone," "the Golden Fleece," or "the Holy Grail."
try it out:
Fill in the blanks: "(Something) functions as the McGuffin in (some book or movie)."
Example: "The narrator herself, Bella, functions as the McGuffin the Twilight stories. Why do the two main dudes chase after her? I don't know. They just do."
before you review, play:
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
Our game for this month: MYP Anagrams!
Rearrange the letters in the given word to form a word we've studied before. For example, if I give you THREAD, you give me DEARTH. To see the answer, scroll all the way down.
Try this one today:
Rearrange the letters in MALINGER to make an adjective.
To peek at the clues, highlight the hidden white text below.
The definition is… newly developing, or influential because it's the start of something new.
The first letter is… G.
review this word:
1.
As I mentioned earlier, in one sense, the opposite of a MCGUFFIN is a DEUS EX MACHINA. But in another sense, the opposite of a MCGUFFIN is
A. an OBJECT USED TO THREATEN BLACKMAIL: it's never nearly as threatening to a character as he thinks it is.
B. a BACK-HANDED COMPLIMENT: it's often uttered in anger by the villain, and it serves to indirectly characterize the hero.
C. an EXPERIENCE OF CHANGE AND GROWTH: it's never the reason a character embarks on a journey, but it's almost always the outcome.
2.
In an episode of Community, the characters _____ a certain wealthy institution, which the writers have playfully named the "McGuffin Neurological Institute."
A. wonder who keeps mismanaging
B. desperately hope for a grant from
C. pretend to be the founding members of
a final word:
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words.
From my blog:
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36 ways to study words.
Why we forget words, & how to remember them.
How to use sophisticated words without being awkward.
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A disclaimer: When I write definitions, I use plain language and stick to the words' common, useful applications. If you're interested in authoritative and multiple definitions of words, I encourage you to check a dictionary. Also, because I'm American, I stick to American English when I share words' meanings, usage, and pronunciations; these elements sometimes vary across world Englishes.
From Teen Titans Go!:
"McGuffin" is a last name. And, it's any object that the characters in a story are desperately trying to get.
Part of speech:
This word is rare, but wonderfully specific and deeply funny.
"Swords and lightsabers are both symbols of status and power. They are the ultimate McGuffins."
Explain the meaning of "McGuffin" without saying "the briefcase full of money," "the Gem of Amara," "the philosopher's stone," "the Golden Fleece," or "the Holy Grail."
Fill in the blanks: "(Something) functions as the McGuffin in (some book or movie)."
Try to spend 20 seconds or more on the game below. Don’t skip straight to the review—first, let your working memory empty out.
I hope you're enjoying Make Your Point. It's made with love. I'm Liesl Johnson, a reading and writing tutor on a mission to explore, illuminate, and celebrate words. |