Consider the next idiom:
Go back to square one
For me, as a non-native speaker, putting the in front of square one sounds equally good as not putting it at all. But, when I speak with native speakers, for them saying the before square one sounds as a broken English.
On the other hand, if I take an another example:
There are a few problems. The first one is ...
My question is, what is the difference? Why in the case of idiom the should not be said, but in the second case it has to be said?
Answer
As a place name, 'square one' would not take an article.
Go back to square one.
I'm on square one of my journey.
However,
Go back to the square one.
...is perfectly fine depending on the context and inflection. By emphasizing 'square', you are saying go the square version of some thing, as opposed to the round one.
Your finger is on the round button, go back to the square one.
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