start from scratch

Syllable breakdown

Dictionary meaning

to begin again from the very beginning, with no advantage of previous work, preparation, or partial completion retained; the phrase derives from the scratch line drawn on the ground as the starting point for competitors in races and boxing matches who had not earned a head start through previous performance; starting from scratch implies a complete reset in which all prior progress is abandoned and the work must be undertaken anew without shortcuts or inherited advantages; in innovation contexts the phrase is invoked when a project has failed so thoroughly that tinkering with what exists would be less productive than building an entirely new approach from first principles