Used when something is being done for the first time or being restarted without prior progress. After the fire, they had to rebuild their house from scratch.
Pro Tip 2/3
No Shortcuts
Implies a process that does not rely on existing work or shortcuts; everything is done manually. He programmed the entire app from scratch.
Pro Tip 3/3
Hard Effort
Suggests significant effort because starting from zero can be more challenging. Writing her thesis from scratch was a daunting task.