go back to the drawing board

go back to the drawing board

To revise or begin planning something from the beginning, typically after it or a similar thing has failed. We need to go back to the drawing board on this project. I think it had some fundamental flaws from the start. Their latest product was a financial disaster, so they had to go back to the drawing board and come up with a fresh, new idea.
See also: back, board, drawing, go
Farlex Dictionary of Idioms.

go back to the drawing board

Fig. to return to the planning stage, so that a failed project can be planned again. These plans have to go back to the drawing board. I thought these problems went back to the drawing board once already.
See also: back, board, drawing, go
McGraw-Hill Dictionary of American Idioms and Phrasal Verbs.
See also:
  • work over
  • work someone over
  • any (one) worth (one's) salt
  • keel over
  • bashing
  • brace (oneself) for (something)
  • brace oneself for
  • young man
  • walk it off
  • walk off
References in periodicals archive
Speaking on his next moves following his eviction, Gedoni said he would go back to the drawing board to plan.
CHRIS Woakes admitted England need to go back to the drawing board in a bid to dislodge Australia batsman Steve Smith.
But now it has been forced to go back to the drawing board after its application failed to make the shortlist of 50 proposals.
Tlou said they would go back to the drawing board to come up with the best strategy to live up to the expectations of their fans
Obviously, we will go back to the drawing board and look at more options.
Hero Hanrahan (inset) added: "We've got a lot of work to do and we'll go back to the drawing board and we'll make our plans and we'll give it a crack when we get up there."
Wakefield lie third, ahead of fifthplaced Hull, and Radford said: "We have to go back to the drawing board. We clearly have some way to go."
'We'll go back to the drawing board, train harder, we'll go back to our room and try to see what's lacking and we'll be back stronger and better.'
In a press statement today, Nurul Izzah said that Putrajaya needs to go back to the drawing board and fine-tune the idea before making any concrete decisions to ensure that the National Automotive Policy will be transparent and inclusive.
Lastly, instead of becoming furious with the honest little angels, the governor should go back to the drawing board and establish why the people who elected him have decided to address him through song and dance.DAVID M.
"As much as we are talking about our church and our culture, we must go back to the drawing board and get solutions to some of these problems," the MP said.
She makes you go back to the drawing board, not just for me, but for many other players.
Sounds like we need to go back to the drawing board.
The FA says all the money raisef is ploughed back into grassroots football, but Caborn says the governing body should protect the name of the FA Cup and go back to the drawing board.