Welcome to Visual Vocabulary, the new animated series from EnglishAnyone.com that helps you
learn useful English expressions the same way native speakers do so you can master them
quickly, AND start using them confidently in your conversations today!
Today’s expression is “Back to the drawing board.”
This is a very common idiom meaning to return to the planning stage of an operation after
a failure.
Imagine you’re the coach of a basketball team.
Your players are gathered around you during a huddle and you draw out a play on a clipboard
for the last possession of the game.
Unfortunately, the play doesn’t work and your team loses the game.
You must now go back to the drawing board – and this can be a physical board or a
figurative conversation about how to try things again – to create a new play for the next
time you need it in a game.
Going back to the drawing board isn’t totally negative, though.
You’re admitting to a mistake when you use this expression, but demonstrating your willingness
to learn and try again.
Back to the drawing board.
“Back to the drawing board” is a phrase you can use in both professional and casual
situations:
A: Looks like the experiment didn’t work as planned.
B: I guess we’re going back to the drawing board.
A: You don’t really think you can make this machine fly, do you?
B: We might need to make a few trips back to the drawing board, but I’m confident
we’ll make something that can fly!
A: You made me a shirt with THREE sleeves!
B: Sorry about that!
Back to the drawing board.
A: I heard their division had to scrap their marketing plan after the boss hated it.
B: Yep.
They’re going back to the drawing board.
Well, that’s the end of this lesson.
But if you feel like you’ve been wasting time with methods that aren’t helping you
get fluent, perhaps it’s time to go back to the drawing board with our free English
fluency test by clicking on the link in this video!
This quick, simple test will show you exactly what to focus on so you can finally become
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Have a fantastic day, be sure to click that like button, and we’ll see you in the next
lesson!