back to the drawing board
Say it: back to the DRAW-ing board /ˌbæk tə ðə ˈdrɔːɪŋ ˌbɔːd/ · idiom
What “back to the drawing board” means
Start again with a new plan after a failure.
More precisely: Time to start again with a new plan after a failure.
Example: “The prototype overheated, so it's back to the drawing board.”
When to use it
When an attempt fails and you need a fresh plan. Common at work and in everyday problem-solving.
Similar words
start again, back to square one
Where it comes from
Popularised by a 1941 Peter Arno cartoon in The New Yorker.
Quick check
Your homemade shelf collapses during testing, so you abandon the design and plan a different one. It's…
the finishing touch or back to the drawing board?
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back to the drawing board
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