Green’s Dictionary of Slang

ask n.

(Aus.) the cost, the asking price.

1983		R. Aven-Bray Ridgey-Didge Oz Jack Lang 7: ‘What is the ask?’ he said as he lamped her pointed brace and bits poking out from the skimpy dicky dirt showing her bare comic cuts.
1985		R.G. Barrett You Wouldn’t Be Dead for Quids (1989) 181: The ask for the drinks in this dump’s enormous.
1997		J. Birmingham Tasmanian Babes Fiasco (1998) 126: Getting two anarchist bosses in a row would have been a bit of an ask.
1997		T. Fontana and S. Jablonski ‘Ancient Tribes’ Oz ser. 2 ep. 2 [TV script] ‘I need an ask.’ ‘What kind of an ask?’ ‘Kill Beecher’.
2022		A. Kirzman Giuliani 173: [T]he companies were flabbergasted by the ask, and rejected the proposal immediately.

SE in slang uses

In phrases

big ask (n.)

something hard to achieve.

1975		Bulletin (Sydney) 26 Apr. 44/2: A big ask, though. They wanted a grand.
1996		P. Temple Bad Debts (2012) [ebook] What do you say, Jack? It’s not a big ask.
2000		S. Maloney [title] The Big Ask.
2003		McGill Reed Dict. of N.Z. Sl. 20: Big ask Difficult achievement.
2009		P. Temple Truth 369: ‘Say police as caringly as possible. Like a blessing.’ ‘Jeez, that’s a big ask’.
2018		G. Disher Kill Shot [ebook] But maybe you can get close to a guy who works alongside Kramer?’ [...] ‘Big ask’.
2020		Twitter 17 Mar. 🌐 That’s a big ask from someone who’s been in the job for only a few weeks. It’s a big ask from an untested PM.