more searches
10 wordies list

macguffin

 (n): (film) a plot element that catches the viewers' attention or drives the plot
( more... )
Leave a comment, citation, or usage note
5 months ago teradome said:

"Two men {are} in a train. One man says, 'What's that package up there in the baggage rack?' And the other answers, 'Oh that's a McGuffin.' The first one asks 'What's a McGuffin?' 'Well' the other man says, 'It's an apparatus for trapping lions in the Scottish Highlands.' The first man says, 'But there are no lions in the Scottish Highlands,' and the other one answers 'Well, then that's no McGuffin!' " -- Alfred Hitchcock

10 months ago arby said:

Good description on TVTropes.

Register or login to leave a comment.
first listed by:
pedalinfaith (615 words)
appears in these lists:
Words to Try to Use in Colloquial Speech Without Sounding Like a Pretentious Ass, by pedalinfaith
dienekes's Words, by dienekes
pickwick's Words, by pickwick
zantony's Words, by zantony
slackagogo's Words, by slackagogo
dewb's Words, by dewb
teradome's Words, by teradome
TheLastGoodNameLeft, by TheLastGoodNameLeft
On Fillum, by bilby
The Spectacle, by whichbe