Fig.: to start all over from the beginning of a plan, project, or course of action since the previous attempts failed. Usually, it conveys disappointment

It took me three weeks to train the puppy to stay off the couch, but then one day alone in the house and we are back to square one

Mi ci sono volute tre settimane per insegnare al cucciolo a non salire sul divano e poi è bastato un giorno da solo in casa e siamo al punto di partenza

My umpteenth experiment to get rid of weeds didn't work out, yet again. Well, I guess it's back to square one, yet again

Il mio ennesimo esperimento per liberarmi delle erbacce è fallito, ancora una volta. Penso che dovrò ripartire da zero, ancora una volta

When we try to understand the reason for this family feud, which has been going on for ages, it always takes us back to “what came first, the chicken or the egg” and so we are back to square one

Quando si cerca di capire il perché di questa faida familiare ultra decennale, si arriva sempre alla questione uovo o gallina e quindi siamo di nuovo da capo a 12

The expression has different explanations. It may derive from board games with numbered squares - square one being the first one -, where a player has to go back to square one after incurring a penalty. Another possible origin goes back to Britain, some 50 years ago, when radio commentators would divide a soccer field map into numbered squares, so that the radio audience could follow the action better