back to square one en · ADJ
Pronunciation
- (Australia) audio
Etymology
Probably from a metaphorical use of the children’s games snakes and ladders.
Meanings
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(idiomatic, not-comparable) Located back at the start, as after a dead end or failure.
Withal he has the problem of maintaining the interest of the reader who is always being sent back to square one in a sort of intellectual game of snakes and ladders.
1952, Edward Maurice Hugh-Jones, “The American Economy, 1860-1940. by A. J. Youngson Brown”, in The Economic Journal, page 411:After spending six hours on the intake we realized that there was nothing wrong with it, so we are back to square one.
Translations (15)
fr de retour à la case départ (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · sv tillbaka till ruta ett (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · it essere punto e a capo (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · id balik ke awal (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · nl terug naar af (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · es volver a la casilla de salida (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · tl balik sa umpisa (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · es de vuelta a la casilla de salida (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · de Alles auf Anfang (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · id kembali ke awal (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · ru на круги своя́ (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · pt voltar à estaca zero (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · pl w punkcie wyjścia (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · de zurück auf Feld eins (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure) · ru у разби́того коры́та (located back at the start, as after a dead-end or failure)