back to square one
This page is about the idiom back to square one
Meaning
If you have to go back to square one, you have to stop and start again, usually because something isn't working as well as expected.
For example
- We were going to start the new company next month, but it's back to square one now that Omar has changed his mind about investing in it.
- After they lost the election, the Liberal Party had to go back to square one and come up with some new policies and some new ideas.
Origin: This probably comes from board games in which players start the game from the first square on the board, or "square one".
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Contributor: Matt Errey