back to the drawing board

idiom/bæk tə ðə ˈdrɔːɪŋ bɔːrd/ 🔊 listen

Back to the drawing board means to start over from the beginning because a plan or idea has failed. When your first attempt doesn't work, you scrap it and begin planning again from scratch.

📖 Meanings

1to start again after a plan has failed
"The design didn't work, so it's back to the drawing board." — The design didn't work, so we have to start over.
2to rethink a plan from the beginning
"They rejected our proposal — back to the drawing board." — They rejected our proposal — we'll start from scratch.

🔄 Related phrases

start from scratch →go back to square one →rethink the plan →

💬 Common patterns

back to the drawing boardit's back to the drawing boardgo back to the drawing board
❓ How do you say you must start over after a plan failed?