What does ‘back to the drawing board’ mean?
To “back to the drawing board” means to start over from the beginning. A 20th-century idiom, popularised by a 1941 New Yorker cartoon; not in Brewer's 1898.
Origin
- A 20th-century idiom, popularised by a 1941 New Yorker cartoon; not in Brewer's 1898.
How to use it
- Common cheerful admission of a failed attempt.
- Example: The prototype flopped — back to the drawing board.
Source:
Last verified: 2026-07-18
- Definitions and origins are drawn from public-domain reference works, primarily Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable (1898), with modern usage notes clearly marked.