How to Pronounce "back to square one"
expression
ˈbæk/ /ˈtu/, /tə/, /tɪ/ /ˈskwɛɹ/ /ˈwən
BAK-tuh-SKWAIR-wuhn
bˈæk/ /tˈuː/ /skwˈeə/ /wˈɒn
BAK-tuh-SKWAIR-won
Definition
If you are back to square one, you have to start something over from the beginning because your previous attempt failed or was pointless.
IPA Transcription
American English
ˈbæk/ /ˈtu/, /tə/, /tɪ/ /ˈskwɛɹ/ /ˈwən
British English
bˈæk/ /tˈuː/ /skwˈeə/ /wˈɒn
Simplified Pronunciation
US
BAK-tuh-SKWAIR-wuhn
UK
BAK-tuh-SKWAIR-won
Listen in Context
After losing all my work, I had to go back to square one.
The project failed, so we're back to square one.
If your plan doesn’t work, just go back to square one and try again.
We accidentally deleted the file, so now it's back to square one for us.