Can だけ be changed into くらい in this sentence? 心配するだけアホらしいっていうか

Question

Here is a sentence I found

心配するだけアホらしいっていうか。

Worrying about it is stupid.

• I think that it is interchangeable with くらい since I think it's the "extent of" use of だけ

Answer 1

As given by the other answer, the answer is no.

Possibly you can see it as a variation of ～たら～だけ・・・ ( see 3-ア of this definition)

It can be written 心配すれば心配するだけあほらしい = The more you worry, the more ridiculous it is. This だけ retains the original meaning of 分量, and actually 分 can replace だけ (maybe less frequently used)：心配する分あほらしい.

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FYI

It is difficult why くらい doesn't replace だけ.

The above dictionary gives

分量・程度・限度を表す。…ほど。…くらい。…かぎり。「走れるだけ走ってみよう」「どれだけの人が苦しんでいるか」

For the two samples, replacements are possible as follows: 走れる{×ほど, ×くらい, 〇かぎり}走ってみよう and どれ{〇ほど, 〇くらい, ×かぎり}の人が.

Answer 2

No, it can't. だけ is used when something itself is emphasized. On the other hand, くらい is used when the extent is shown.