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3. start with a clean slate

start with a clean slate

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start (off) with a clean slate

 and start (over) with a clean slate

Fig. to start out again afresh; to ignore the past and start over again. I plowed under all last year's flowers so I could start with a clean slate next spring. If I start off with a clean slate, then I'll know exactly what each plant is. When Bob got out of jail, he started over with a clean slate.

See also: clean, slate, start