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.

Read more on Literature

Related Words

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