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| idiom., literal. |
what is the value of something? |
| idiom., mean.1 |
a question indicating one's doubt that an achievement is or was worth the cost in terms of the problems it has led to or the sacrifices that it required (Most commonly seen in the phrase "What price fame?"
: When you have to have a security detail just to go to the grocery store, you have to ask: What price fame?
• What price wealth, when you sell out everything you believe in along the way?  thefreedictionary.com); used to ask what has become of something or to suggest that something has or would become worthless (I also addressed the Post Workers' Union meeting at St George's Hall in the company of Coun Margaret Eaton and Marsha Singh MP – what price that effort. •
With the countryside slathered in chemicals and the parks sanitised in the name of ‘safety’, what price our ‘heritage’? •
But what price his reputation if it had to rest alone on the output of that wilderness period? •
So what price the trust in this company, which has enjoyed the residue of much mutual goodwill built up over generations? lexico.com); used for asking whether something that someone has achieved was worth all the problems it caused (What price a peace settlement now? macmillandictionary.com); used to suggest that something was not worth achieving because too many bad things have happened as a result (What price progress? ldoceonline.com); used to say that you think that something you have achieved may not be worth all the problems and difficulties it causes (What price fame and fortune? thefreedictionary.com); used to ask what has become of something or to suggest that something has or would become worthless (What price justice if he were allowed to go free? • The holistic approach of phrenology taught them to look at the body-mind dichotomy and to think in terms of prevention rather than quick cures that were often spurious. What price modern medicine with its reliance on the prescription pad, and the slavish devotion to pills? thefreedictionary.com, google.com) |
| idiom., mean.2 |
used to say that something seems unlikely (What price England winning the World Cup? thefreedictionary.com); used to state that something seems unlikely (What price cricket at the Olympics? •
And what price the chancellor actually assisting in the purchase of all these crofts by giving top-rate taxpayers cash incentives to buy up the properties? •
And if our political leaders fail to set a firm example, what price the fashion industry itself? •
If even animals can't feel welcome and at home in Caledonia stern and wild, what price people? •
Still, they give the papers concerned a chance to bash the government, so what price accuracy? lexico.com); used for saying that you think something is very unlikely to happen (What price a reprieve for Scotland in tonight’s final? macmillandictionary.com); what are the chances of something happening now? (What price England winning the World Cup?) |
| idiom., sarcast. |
consider the worth of something!, what do you think of something? (Occasionally admiring, but generally sarcastic, in reference to a declared or well-understood value (The New Partridge Dictionary of Slang and Unconventional English): Jane's best friend told us all about Jane's personal problems. What price friendship? • Jack simply declared himself president of the political society. What price democracy? google.com, stackexchange.com) |
