English Idioms
Comprehensive resource for understanding and mastering English idioms
Back to square one
Meaning
The idiom "back to square one" means starting over or returning to the beginning of a project, process, or relationship. It implies that what was previously done has failed or needs to be reevaluated and redone.
Usage
- After several failed attempts, we are back to square one on our project.
- The company's profits have decreased by 50%, so they are back to square one in terms of their financial strategy.
- When it comes to my relationship with my husband, we are back to square one after the argument we had last night.
- We need to go back to square one and reconsider our approach to solving this problem.
- After years of planning for her dream job, she was offered the position but decided to turn it down and start over from scratch.
Roots and History
The idiom "back to square one" is believed to have originated in the early 20th century. One theory suggests that it comes from the practice of marking a game board or map with a square in order to keep track of progress. When the player reached a point where they needed to start over, they would return to the first square on the board or map. Another theory suggests that the idiom comes from the practice of taking a photograph by manually adjusting the focus and setting. If the photo didn't turn out well, the photographer would have to go back to the beginning and start over. Over time, the idiom has become more commonly used in everyday language to describe any situation where someone needs to start over or return to the beginning of a project, process, or relationship.
Synonyms in English
- Back to square zero
- Reevaluate from the ground up
- Starting anew
- Going back to the drawing board
- Going back to the source
Synonyms in other languages
- French: Retrouver le point de départ (to start over)
- German: Zurück zur Ausgangsposition (to return to the starting position)
- Spanish: Volver al principio (to go back to the beginning)
- Italian: Ritornare alla partenza (to return to the starting point)
- Japanese: 元の状態に戻す (to return to the original state)