square one

noun

1. a starting point; initial stage or step.

   If this plan fails, we'll have to go back to square one.

Word History and Origins

Origin of square one¹

First recorded in 1955–60; alluding to board games in which a player is penalized by being forced to return to the starting point

Example Sentences

"It takes time to then get players out, get players in and then before you know it, that manager doesn't get the results and then they're gone and you're back to square one," said Rooney.

From BBC

If we change the manager then we are just back to square one again.

From BBC

Though he’s dubbed his latest trek across the country the Bean Without a Cause Tour, he’s also back to square one — a comic without new material, or at least not much of it.

From Los Angeles Times

“If we got shut down, we got shut down, back to square one,” Oganesyan said of the business plan.

From Los Angeles Times

In a decades-long game of transport snakes and ladders, Leeds was back at square one again.

From BBC