Definitions for "MacGuffin"
a charming word Alfred Hitchcock used for a plot device that is extremely important to the protagonist (and others), but not to the audience
an object or character that plays a key role, but does not actually appear in that story
An object which is pursued by the characters in a story purely for the purposes of propelling the plot, without having any intrinsic relationship to the solution of whatever mystery arises in the course of the pursuit. Best-known example: the Maltese Falcon. The term originated with Alfred Hitchcock.
a device for capturing the lions roaming the Scottish highlands
a device used for killing leopards in the Scottish highlands
a card that if played exposes its discarder's side to one danger but if kept exposes it to another.