Talk:back to square one

Folk etymology: BBC football commentary

A common folk etymology derives this from BBC football commentaries of the 1920s, but there is no evidence for this.

For detailed discussion, see:

• Gary Martin (1997–) “Back%20to%20square%20one”, in The Phrase Finder.

In brief:

In 1927 the BBC began live radio commentary of football in the UK, and divided the field into eight rectangles to allow the commentator to describe the ball’s location. The folk etymology posits that when one of the teams passed the ball from midfield to the left back (or equivalent defensive position) it would be sent “back to square one”, hence the phrase. However:

• “back to square one” is not recorded in any recording of the commentary;
• the system was dropped soon after inception;
• there is an over 2 year gap between the use of the system and the first attestation of the phrase; and
• there was nothing special about the rectangle numbered one (play did not restart from there).

On the contrary, the earliest attestation (1952) specifically cites snakes and ladders, so I see no reason to not give this as the clear primary source. Other games may have played a part, but this seems unambiguous.

—Nils von Barth (nbarth) (talk) 14:30, 10 November 2013 (UTC)

While Martin notes that most games of snakes and ladders don’t in fact return the player to square one, this seems a clear metaphorical use, and in fact many games do include a snake going back to square one, as in the attached image (this revision).

Martin also notes that presumably the phrase originated earlier, noting hearsay mentions decades earlier. Please add any further information you may find!

—Nils von Barth (nbarth) (talk) 14:46, 10 November 2013 (UTC)