square one

American  

noun

1. a starting point; initial stage or step.

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

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Etymology

Origin of square one

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

He had to begin at square one and get to square 100.

From Salon

Explain your current level of tech knowledge: If you’ve never touched code or a script before, tell the AI you’re starting from square one and it should explain every single step you need to take.

From The Wall Street Journal

"We were mostly starting from square one, and that threw up all sorts of challenges, but also joyful surprises," he said.

From BBC

"I was back to square one," he explains.

From BBC

"A few months later, back to square one again," he added.

From BBC