“Back to square one” means starting over after a failed attempt. Its origin is unclear, but it may come from hopscotch or Chutes and Ladders. It is used in various contexts, including relationships, work, and school, and implies the possibility of a fresh start.
Back to square one” is an idiom that has to do with starting over after an attempt to accomplish a specific task or goal has failed to produce the desired results. The idiom is used in a number of contexts, including in reference to relationship issues, project management tasks, and even in the running of a business or non-profit organization. There is a difference of opinion as to how this particular English saying entered the popular vernacular, with some explanations having to do with games.
A popular origin for return to square one has to do with the game of hopscotch. This popular children’s game required you to create a series of squares, each of which contained a number. As part of the game, a participant must traverse the grid of squares, eventually returning to one’s home square, where it is possible to start all over again.
Another idea of the origin of the back to square one also revolves around a children’s game known as Chutes and Ladders. With this board game, landing on a square connected to a slide can either take the player back a level or, in the case of some squares, take the player all the way back to the first square on the board. Critics of this explanation note that the phrase had been popular for a number of years before this particular board game was developed, although there is some merit in seeing the game as a means of boosting the idiom’s popularity.
Whatever the origins of back to square one, the phrase is used in a variety of situations today. When a relationship fails, both parties sometimes see each other as if they are starting over with new partners. In the workplace, employees can come full circle after an attempt to complete an assigned task fails, requiring them to start over. Today, students who use word processing programs to write term papers may even find themselves coming full circle if they don’t save the document from time to time and the system shuts down unexpectedly. While coming full circle usually implies some kind of previous failure, it also implies the possibility of putting the past behind you and enjoying a fresh start, something that is often a desirable situation.
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