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What does “back to square one” mean?
Meaning, example sentences and a quick practice question.
B2
Starting again from the very beginning
“The plan fell through, so it's back to square one.”
From the B2 lesson A Piece of Cake (easy and difficult).
C1
Starting again from the very beginning
“The deal fell through, so it's back to square one.”
From the C1 lesson A Piece of Cake (easy and difficult).
Quick check
What does “back to square one” mean?
Teaching this phrase?“back to square one” is part of a ready-to-teach lesson, with a reading, three exercises, speaking tasks and an answer key, in Everyday English Chunks B2 Pack 2 (Plans, Problems and Feelings) and Everyday English Chunks C1 Pack 2 (Plans, Problems and Feelings).
See the B2 lesson pack See the C1 lesson pack
See the B2 lesson pack See the C1 lesson pack
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Related phrases
- a piece of cakesomething very easy to do
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- a blessing in disguisesomething that seems bad at first, but turns out to be good
- no big dealnot something important or serious
- give upto stop trying to do something
- hard workrequiring a lot of effort
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- an uphill battlea difficult struggle that requires a lot of effort
- easier said than doneused when something sounds simple but is actually difficult to achieve
- hit a brick wallto reach a point where you can't make any further progress