The Wordnik Word of the Day for February 22, 2012 is

(noun) 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.

While the origin of 'MacGuffin' is obscure, the first recorded usage was in a lecture given by Alfred Hitchcock at Columbia University in 1939. A 'red herring' differs in that it purposely draws attention awRead More...