“square”是方格的意思，這個用語從字面上理解就是「回到最初的方格」。是不是想起小時候玩的跳房子了？沒錯，這個詞就起源於英國孩童的遊戲，如跳房子和蛇梯棋。遊戲中，開始你可能遙遙領先，但一著不慎，就可能回到原點。所以本俚語主要用來形容一切努力付諸東流，前功盡棄。
back to square one例句精選：
We got a phone call from the lawyers and it was back to square one.
我們接到了律師的一個電話，一切又得從頭開始。
If your complaint is not upheld, you may feel you are back to square one.
如果你的投訴沒有得到支持，你可能會感到自己又得重新開始。
Are you telling me we’re back to square one?
你是在告訴我說我們又轉回來了嗎？
Finally, when I confirmed that is correct, the red back to square one.
終於，當我確認無誤後，衝回了起點。
看看老外聊天時怎麼用back to square one：
Rose：Hey, I hear that you proposed to your girlfriend last night. How was it？
嘿，我聽說你昨晚向女朋友求婚啦？
Kevin：Oh, let’s drop it.
唉，別提了。
Rose：What happened？
怎麼了？
Kevin：We had a big fight before the dinner over some trifles. We broke up and everything just went back to square one.
吃飯前我們為了些小事鬧翻了。我們分手了，一切又回到了原點。
Rose: I’m sorry to hear that. Anyway, good luck！
聽到這個非常遺憾。不管怎樣，祝你好運！