Visual Vocabulary - Back to the Drawing Board

source: EnglishAnyone    2016年11月7日
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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” 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.