square one
Noun
Meaning
square one (plural not attested)
(idiomatic) The place where one begins; a lack of progress.
We discovered that our first idea would never work, so we were back to square one.
Synonyms
Antonyms
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Related terms
Examples
They have to do this for long enough to agree it works, and if there’s a hiccup, we have to go back to square one.
Every time I got a new job part of me felt like I was back at square one again.
For the time being, we're back at square one and fans will be allowed into sporting events under the current guidelines.
He said they'll make adjustments but aren't going to go back to square one.
"Next week Wednesday we gone back to square one again.
Reviving the costly P&A campaign and beginning from square one later this year, for a film that already cost around $245 million to make, will be an expensive endeavor.