drawing

back to the drawing board

Fig. time to start from the start; it is time to plan something over again. (Plans or schematics are drawn on a drawing board. Note the variations shown in the examples.) It didn't work. Back to the drawing board. I flunked English this semester. Well, back to the old drawing board.

See also: back, board

drawing card

Fig. an attraction that helps bring patrons to a place of entertainment. The comedian was a real drawing card at the night club.

See also: card

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

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a drawing card  (American & Australian)

a famous person who attracts a lot of people to a public event Babe Ruth was the outstanding player of his time - the real drawing card for Yankee Stadium.

See also: card

back to the drawing board

if you go back to the drawing board, you have to start planning a piece of work again because the previous plan failed If the education reform is too expensive to implement, it's back to the drawing board for the committee. Our proposal might not be accepted, in which case we'll have to go back to the drawing board.

See also: back, board

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go back to the drawing board

to start something again because the previous attempt failed Researchers went back to the drawing board to find where they went wrong.

Usage notes: sometimes used without go: When we thought we were finished, he sent us back to the drawing board and asked us to completely redo it.

Related vocabulary: back to square one

See also: back, board