sixty-four-dollar question

or $64 ques·tion

[ siks-tee-fawr-dol-er kwes-chuhn, -fohr- ]

noun

1. the critical or basic question or problem:

   Whether the measure will get through Congress this session or not is the sixty-four-dollar question.

Word History and Origins

Origin of sixty-four-dollar question¹

From the fact that 64 dollars was the largest prize on a popular radio quiz show in the 1940s

Example Sentences

She sat ramrod straight as if she were on television, going for the sixty-four-dollar question.

From Literature

Related Words

• complexity
• conundrum
• dilemma
• enigma
• mystery
• puzzle
• quandary
• teaser