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Synonyms

sixty-four-dollar question

American

[siks-tee-fawr-dol-er kwes-chuhn, -fohr-] / ˈsɪks tiˌfɔrˈdɒl ər ˈkwɛs tʃən, -ˌfoʊr- /

Or $64 question

noun

the critical or basic question or problem.

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

Etymology

Origin of sixty-four-dollar question

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

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

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

From Literature

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.