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# Chekhov's Gun
- URL: https://www.wonderousworldsofwords.com/chekhovs-gun/
- Published: 2026-10-20T10:00:00.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-20T09:59:59.000Z
- Description: If it's shown early, it should matter later.
- Author: Tyler Bussell
- Tags: Word of the Day

Noun

What it means:

Chekhov's gun is the principle that every detail a writer puts in front of the reader should pay off. The playwright Anton Chekhov said that a rifle hanging on the wall in the first act should go off by the third.

The fishing knife in the glove box was *Chekhov's gun*, and we all knew it.