the sixty-four thousand dollar question
noun /ðə ˌsɪksti fɔː ˌθaʊznd ˌdɒlə ˈkwestʃən/
/ðə ˌsɪksti fɔːr ˌθaʊznd ˌdɑːlər ˈkwestʃən/
(informal)- the thing that people most want to know, or that is most important
- It’s a clever plan, but the sixty-four thousand dollar question is: will it work?
Word OriginFrom the name of a US television show which gave prizes of money to people who answered questions correctly. The correct answer to the last question was worth $64 000.