IdiomBody & Senses
English
Englishgo back to square one
Meaning: Return to the beginning.
Example: “The investors pulled out, so we're back to square one.”
Equivalents in other languages
French: Retourner à la case départ Literally: To return to the starting square
Origin: Probably from board games such as Snakes and Ladders, where landing on the wrong square sends a player back to the start. A popular theory ties it to early BBC radio football commentary, which divided the pitch into numbered squares for listeners, but that link is not proven. The phrase became common from the 1950s.
More English idioms
- a bone of contention A topic of dispute.
- a bone to pick A dispute.
- burn one's bridges To take a course of action that makes it impossible to go back.
- by word of mouth The informal, verbal passing of information from one person to another.
- catch someone's eye To attract someone's visual attention.
- change of heart A reversal of attitude.
Explore another collection: Tongue Twisters
Tricky phrases to practice out loud, from languages around the world.
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could chuck wood? A 'w/ch/ck' drill that accelerates comically — and nobody really knows the answer.
- The sixth sick sheikh's sixth sheep's sick. Believed by Guinness to be among the hardest in English — 'six/sick/sheikh/sheep' blur in…
- Betty Botter bought some butter, but she said the butter's bitter. A 'b / t / tt' plosive drill that bounces between Betty, butter, and bitter.
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