start from scratch

to start from the very beginning; to start from nothing. Whenever I bake a cake, I start from scratch. I never use a cake mix in a box. I built every bit of my own house. I started from scratch and did everything with my own hands.

start from scratch

Start at the beginning with no advantage. The scratch line was a stripe across the ground where a race began. Starting from scratch meant having no advantage against others in the race where handicaps allowed some entrants shorter distances to run.

Common Names:

Name	Pronounced	Usage
Afia	-	Western African, Akan
Augustus	ə-GUS-təs (English), ow-KHUYS-tus (Dutch)	Ancient Roman, Dutch
Donatienne	-	French
Rolph	RAHLF	English (Rare)
Asbury	['æzbəri]
Gislenus	-	Ancient Germanic (Latinized)