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Synonyms

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.

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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.