Why Do We Say ‘Back to Square One’?
We've all been there — you try and try, but you fail and have to start over, "back to square one." The phrase portrays the frustration of erased progress but also illustrates the determination to try again. So where is "square one"? There are two main theories as to the
origin of the phrase: British football (aka soccer) and board games, although both theories have their flaws. In 2007, the BBC wrote that the saying comes from the earliest live radio broadcast of a British football game in 1927. To help listeners picture the location of the ball during play,...
