Back to square one
📖 Meanings
- 1.
To return to the initial stage because the attempts have failed
- 2.
To start again from the beginning, especially when something has failed
- 3.
To go back to the first step of a process or activity after a failure
- 4.
To return to the starting point due to a lack of progress
💬 Examples
- 1.
After hours of negotiations, they were back to square one.
- 2.
All our efforts were in vain. We are back to square one.
- 3.
The experiment did not work. We have to go back to square one.
- 4.
If this approach doesn't work, we'll be back to square one.
🗞️ Etymology
- 1.
Some believe that the phrase is based on the board game 'Snakes and Ladders', where landing on a snake would send a player back to the start.
- 2.
The phrase was also used in the 1940s to refer to returning to the start of a process or plan.
- 3.
It was first recorded in print in the 'Economic Journal' in 1952.
- 4.
The phrase became popular in the 1960s and is now a common idiom in many languages.
🔁 Synonyms
- 1.
Start from scratch
- 2.
Back to the drawing board
- 3.
Start again
- 4.
Begin again
- 5.
Start over
🌀 Variants
- 1.
Go back to square one
- 2.
Return to square one
- 3.
Start back at square one
- 4.
Back to the starting point
- 5.
Back to the beginning