See MacGuffin in All languages combined, or Wiktionary
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Mc-",
"3": "dubh",
"4": "Fionn",
"lang2": "ga",
"lang3": "ga",
"lit3": "fairheaded",
"t1": "son of",
"t2": "black"
},
"expansion": "Mc- (“son of”) + Irish dubh (“black”) + Irish Fionn (literally “fairheaded”)",
"name": "af"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).\nSee also Wikipedia's MacGuffin § History and use.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "MacGuffins",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "MacGuffin (plural MacGuffins)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Narratology",
"orig": "en:Narratology",
"parents": [
"Drama",
"Literature",
"Theater",
"Culture",
"Entertainment",
"Writing",
"Art",
"Society",
"Human behaviour",
"Language",
"All topics",
"Human",
"Communication",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w"
},
{
"_dis": "13 87",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English entries with incorrect language header",
"parents": [
"Entries with incorrect language header",
"Entry maintenance"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "32 68",
"kind": "other",
"name": "English terms prefixed with Mc-",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "18 82",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with 1 entry",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "16 84",
"kind": "other",
"name": "Pages with entries",
"parents": [],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "0 100",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Fiction",
"orig": "en:Fiction",
"parents": [
"Artistic works",
"Art",
"Culture",
"Society",
"All topics",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
},
{
"_dis": "5 95",
"kind": "topical",
"langcode": "en",
"name": "Plot devices",
"orig": "en:Plot devices",
"parents": [
"Fiction",
"Narratology",
"Artistic works",
"Drama",
"Literature",
"Art",
"Theater",
"Culture",
"Entertainment",
"Writing",
"Society",
"Human behaviour",
"Language",
"All topics",
"Human",
"Communication",
"Fundamental"
],
"source": "w+disamb"
}
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2000, Steven Spielberg, Lester D. Friedman, Brent Notbohm, Steven Spielberg: Interviews:",
"text": "\" […] But we wound up realizing you really can't top yourself. You just tell a different story and hope the new MacGuffin is as compelling as the last MacGuffin.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Thomas M. Disch, On SF:",
"text": "A paleontologist lately returned from an expedition to Wyoming, where he unearthed the bones of the first brontosaurus (and supplied guns to the Indians on behalf of the Foreign Office, which had succeeded in its policy of balkanizing the North American continent) Mallory comes into possession of the MacGuffin during a Derby Day encounter with Byron's daughter (and Babbage's protégée) Ada. Thereafter he is hounded by a whole rogue's gallery of villains bent on reclaiming the MacGuffin.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"id": "en-MacGuffin-en-noun-ngkiEilD",
"links": [
[
"narratology",
"narratology"
],
[
"plot",
"plot"
],
[
"suspense",
"suspense"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(narratology) 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."
],
"related": [
{
"word": "red herring"
}
],
"topics": [
"human-sciences",
"linguistics",
"narratology",
"sciences"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/məˈɡʌf.ɪn/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation",
"US"
]
},
{
"audio": "en-us-MacGuffin.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "McGuffin"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Alfred Hitchcock",
"MacGuffin#History_and_use",
"Ulster"
],
"word": "MacGuffin"
}
{
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Mc-",
"3": "dubh",
"4": "Fionn",
"lang2": "ga",
"lang3": "ga",
"lit3": "fairheaded",
"t1": "son of",
"t2": "black"
},
"expansion": "Mc- (“son of”) + Irish dubh (“black”) + Irish Fionn (literally “fairheaded”)",
"name": "af"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).\nSee also Wikipedia's MacGuffin § History and use.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "MacGuffins",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "s"
},
"expansion": "MacGuffin (plural MacGuffins)",
"name": "en-proper noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "name",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
{
"kind": "other",
"name": "English surnames",
"parents": [],
"source": "w"
}
],
"glosses": [
"A surname."
],
"id": "en-MacGuffin-en-name-EMUC1F3L",
"links": [
[
"surname",
"surname"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/məˈɡʌf.ɪn/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation",
"US"
]
},
{
"audio": "en-us-MacGuffin.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"_dis1": "0 0",
"word": "McGuffin"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Alfred Hitchcock",
"MacGuffin#History_and_use",
"Ulster"
],
"word": "MacGuffin"
}
{
"categories": [
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English proper nouns",
"English terms derived from Irish",
"English terms prefixed with Mc-",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Requests for date",
"en:Fiction",
"en:Plot devices"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Mc-",
"3": "dubh",
"4": "Fionn",
"lang2": "ga",
"lang3": "ga",
"lit3": "fairheaded",
"t1": "son of",
"t2": "black"
},
"expansion": "Mc- (“son of”) + Irish dubh (“black”) + Irish Fionn (literally “fairheaded”)",
"name": "af"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).\nSee also Wikipedia's MacGuffin § History and use.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "MacGuffins",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {},
"expansion": "MacGuffin (plural MacGuffins)",
"name": "en-noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "noun",
"related": [
{
"word": "red herring"
}
],
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English terms with quotations",
"Quotation templates to be cleaned",
"en:Narratology"
],
"examples": [
{
"ref": "2000, Steven Spielberg, Lester D. Friedman, Brent Notbohm, Steven Spielberg: Interviews:",
"text": "\" […] But we wound up realizing you really can't top yourself. You just tell a different story and hope the new MacGuffin is as compelling as the last MacGuffin.\"",
"type": "quote"
},
{
"ref": "2005, Thomas M. Disch, On SF:",
"text": "A paleontologist lately returned from an expedition to Wyoming, where he unearthed the bones of the first brontosaurus (and supplied guns to the Indians on behalf of the Foreign Office, which had succeeded in its policy of balkanizing the North American continent) Mallory comes into possession of the MacGuffin during a Derby Day encounter with Byron's daughter (and Babbage's protégée) Ada. Thereafter he is hounded by a whole rogue's gallery of villains bent on reclaiming the MacGuffin.",
"type": "quote"
}
],
"glosses": [
"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."
],
"links": [
[
"narratology",
"narratology"
],
[
"plot",
"plot"
],
[
"suspense",
"suspense"
]
],
"raw_glosses": [
"(narratology) 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."
],
"topics": [
"human-sciences",
"linguistics",
"narratology",
"sciences"
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/məˈɡʌf.ɪn/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation",
"US"
]
},
{
"audio": "en-us-MacGuffin.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "McGuffin"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Alfred Hitchcock",
"MacGuffin#History_and_use",
"Ulster"
],
"word": "MacGuffin"
}
{
"categories": [
"English compound terms",
"English countable nouns",
"English entries with incorrect language header",
"English lemmas",
"English nouns",
"English proper nouns",
"English terms derived from Irish",
"English terms prefixed with Mc-",
"English uncountable nouns",
"Pages with 1 entry",
"Pages with entries",
"Requests for date",
"en:Fiction",
"en:Plot devices"
],
"etymology_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "en",
"2": "Mc-",
"3": "dubh",
"4": "Fionn",
"lang2": "ga",
"lang3": "ga",
"lit3": "fairheaded",
"t1": "son of",
"t2": "black"
},
"expansion": "Mc- (“son of”) + Irish dubh (“black”) + Irish Fionn (literally “fairheaded”)",
"name": "af"
}
],
"etymology_text": "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”).\nSee also Wikipedia's MacGuffin § History and use.",
"forms": [
{
"form": "MacGuffins",
"tags": [
"plural"
]
}
],
"head_templates": [
{
"args": {
"1": "s"
},
"expansion": "MacGuffin (plural MacGuffins)",
"name": "en-proper noun"
}
],
"lang": "English",
"lang_code": "en",
"pos": "name",
"senses": [
{
"categories": [
"English surnames"
],
"glosses": [
"A surname."
],
"links": [
[
"surname",
"surname"
]
]
}
],
"sounds": [
{
"ipa": "/məˈɡʌf.ɪn/",
"tags": [
"Received-Pronunciation",
"US"
]
},
{
"audio": "en-us-MacGuffin.ogg",
"mp3_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/transcoded/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg.mp3",
"ogg_url": "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/95/En-us-MacGuffin.ogg"
}
],
"synonyms": [
{
"word": "McGuffin"
}
],
"wikipedia": [
"Alfred Hitchcock",
"MacGuffin#History_and_use",
"Ulster"
],
"word": "MacGuffin"
}
Download raw JSONL data for MacGuffin meaning in English (4.8kB)
This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2025-01-25 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2025-01-20 using wiktextract (c15a5ce and 5c11237). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.
If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.