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back to square one

Located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure.

Etymology:

  • Possibly from either of the children’s games hopscotch or snakes and ladders.
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“

After spending six hours on the intake we realized that there was nothing wrong with it, so we are back to square one.

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Submitted on September 01, 2009

Additional definitions for 'back to square one':

Back to Square OneA situation in which, one has to return to an earlier state due to certain drawbacks or failures
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возвращается на круги своя

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Nearby phrases

Some more phrases from our dictionary similar to back to square one

back offback ontoback to the salt minesback upback officeback offback upback of one's handback outback outback to the drawing boardback of one's handback-asswardsback of beyond

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    "back to square one." Phrases.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 21 Nov. 2024. <https://www.phrases.com/phrase/back-to-square-one_2153>.

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