Status quo ante

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Status quo ante, Latin for, "the way things were before," incorporating the term status quo, may refer to:

• In law, the objective of a temporary restraining order or a rescission in which the situation is restored to "the state in which previously" it existed
• Status quo ante bellum, meaning "the way things were before the war"
• Another name for the reset button technique, a technique in fiction writing

This phrase is commonly used in plea agreements to allow the parties to return to the way things were in case some contingency does not occur (i.e. failure to pay restitution by a given date).