million-dollar question
10
5.0
- noun
- Informal
:
pregunta del millón
- So the million-dollar question is, is this going to be the wild west and we're just gonna let everybody do whatever they want?
- answer the million-dollar question
- ask the million-dollar question
- million-dollar question," he says
Examples
-
The million-dollar question is how do we get everybody to love it, and profit as well?
Blog text (20) -
The million-dollar question is whether we will ever find a solution to climate change.
-
Back to our million dollar question.
-
I know, the one million dollar question:
Blog text (27) -
Now, that, right there, is the million-dollar question.
-
And now for the million-dollar question.
-
And the million-dollar question is, did the president know?
Academic text (2011) -
Of course, the million-dollar question that everyone asks is, "How can I get more prospects to talk to?"
Blog text (33) -
The million-dollar question is how long that transition may take and how abruptly it will come.
Blog text (32) -
Well, that's the million-dollar question, isn't it?
Synonyms
11
3.5
An urgent question that needs a quick answer
How Important
- Informal
10
5.0
- Formal
∞
1.0
Surface Forms
Morphology
million-dollar + question
The phrase is compositionally transparent: a 'million-dollar' modifier suggests something worth a million dollars (i.e., very valuable or important), so 'million-dollar question' naturally means a highly important or decisive question. The monetary hyperbole is predictable from the constituents and follows common compounding/figurative patterns, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words can infer the intended meaning.
Etymology
Million-dollar question creates a clear image: imagine a million-dollar prize for a question on a game show, so the answer feels very valuable. That's why the phrase means a question that is 'very important' or 'hard to answer'.