MacGuffin
noun [ C ] theatre & film specialized (also McGuffin) uk/məˈɡʌf.ɪn/ us/məˈɡʌf.ɪn/
麦加芬（指推动电影情节发展，但本身并不重要的细节）
something in a film that moves the plot (= story) forward but is not important itself
Most mysteries have a MacGuffin, an event or item designed to motivate the characters but which is actually just a meaningless placeholder. 大多数悬疑片都有所谓的“麦加芬”，即为塑造角色而设计的事件或物品，但其本身不过是形式而已，没有什么意义。
Hitchcock described the "MacGuffin" as a meaningless, unimportant detail that solely existed to serve as a reason for the story to exist. 希区柯克将 "麦加芬"定义为一个毫无意义、不重要的细节，其存在完全是为了作为故事存在的理由。
- More examples
- A MacGuffin is something that an entire story is built around and yet has no real relevance.
- The pregnancy is kind of a MacGuffin: it motivates her to realize her feelings for the man who fathered the child.
- The characters' literary obsession is ultimately a MacGuffin, since it's not what they do as a profession, but what they do with their lives, that the film is interested in.
- A MacGuffin's importance is usually debunked or forgotten as the story unfolds.