# Really Clever Titles **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 16, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240 "2007-03-16T18:21:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/1 "2007-03-16T18:21:27Z")
Some books, songs, and movies have very clever titles which contain jokes or clues themselves. I know that I’ll think of a great many of these after I post this, but some examples are: **No Man Knows My History** – a biography od LDS Church Founder Joseph Smith. The title comes from a quotation of Joseph Smith. Regardless of what you think of the LDS Church, or Joseph Smith, or this book, I maintain that the title itself is especuially clever as the title of this biography. Fawn Brodie, the author, was a woman. **The Last of Sheila** – underappreciated mystery movie. The title itself is a clue. Logician Raymond Smullyan’s popular books of logic puzzles **What is the Name of this Book?** and **This Book Needs no Title**. I know there are plenty of others. ---
**Author:** ![KJ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b2d939/32.png) [@KJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KJ)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 7:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/2 "2007-03-16T19:59:39Z")
The movie **October Sky** is based off of a book called “Rocket Boys.” The title is an anagram. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/3 "2007-03-16T20:05:55Z")
I dislike Michael Moore intensely, but I thought the title of **Fahrenheit 9/11** was wonderful. Ray Bradbury was not amused, though. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 8:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/4 "2007-03-16T20:09:52Z")
[QUOTE=KJ] The movie **October Sky** is based off of a book called “Rocket Boys.” **The title is an anagram**. [/QUOTE] That is too cool! ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/5 "2007-03-16T20:12:17Z")
Abbie Hoffman’s book on ripping off the system: Steal This Book. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 8:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/6 "2007-03-16T20:15:14Z")
The TV series **Torchwood** is a spinoff from **Doctor Who**. “Torchwood” is an anagram of “Doctor Who.” ---
**Author:** ![gigi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/a587f6/32.png) [@gigi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gigi)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/7 "2007-03-16T21:37:31Z")
R.E.M.'s album **epynomous**. It makes my head explode. ---
**Author:** ![mobo85](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b19c9b/32.png) [@mobo85](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mobo85)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/8 "2007-03-16T21:45:59Z")
Desi Arnaz titled his autobiography _A Book_, since that’s what it was, after all. In a similar vein, a satire of history textbooks written by the staff of _The Daily Show_ was titled _America: the Book_, presumably so it wouldn’t be confused with America the country. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 9:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/9 "2007-03-16T21:47:23Z")
_Principia Discordia: How I Found Goddess and What I Did to Her When I Found Her._ ---
**Author:** ![Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troy_mcclure_sf/32/4150_2.png) [@Troy\_McClure\_SF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Troy_McClure_SF)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/10 "2007-03-16T21:55:14Z")
[QUOTE=pinkfreud] I dislike Michael Moore intensely, but I thought the title of **Fahrenheit 9/11** was wonderful. Ray Bradbury was not amused, though. [/QUOTE] Of course, this was ruined when one of the commercials said, “Fahrenheit is the temperature at which our rights melt away” (or something like that). Uh, Fahrenheit is a _scale_, dumbass. ---
**Author:** ![Marisa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Marisa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marisa)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/11 "2007-03-16T22:04:53Z")
Isn’t their a song called “Download This Song” - catchy but talking about mp3s and music labels and after awhile it’s like “whoever you are you can’t write good lyrics about this subject and now it’s a whinge” but the title is like Hoffman’s “Steal This Book” Rushdie’s “Satanic Verses” - Satanic as in they are the center of religious, social and gender debate in Islam but also a pun on the fact that they become seen as evil because of the way they are translated and transcribed in the book as well as the fact that he knew the book would be objected to for talking about such things. Bernard Shaw’s “Pygmalion” - the idea of creating one’s ideal mate from the Greek Myth of Pygmalion and Galatea. If you don’t know what I am referring to - it got turned into My Fair Lady the musical. ---
**Author:** ![pinkfreud](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pinkfreud/32/17603_2.png) [@pinkfreud](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pinkfreud)\ **Post date:** [March 16, 2007, 10:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/12 "2007-03-16T22:12:05Z")
[QUOTE=Troy McClure SF] …one of the commercials said, “Fahrenheit is the temperature at which our rights melt away” (or something like that). Uh, Fahrenheit is a _scale_, dumbass. [/QUOTE] The only commercial slogan I remember was “Fahrenheit 9/11: it’s the temperature at which freedom burns.” ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 12:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/13 "2007-03-17T00:00:24Z")
One collection of Theodore Sturgeon was titled **Caviar** , presumably because it was the best of Sturgeon. John Sladek’s novel of self-replicating robots was titled **The Reproductive System**. **Arrested Development** is a punning title: George Bluth is a developer and he is arrested, arresting the development of the property. And, of course, everyone in the family is a case of arrested development. Similarly, the short-lived **Cops** parody, **Arresting Behavior** had a double meaning in the arresting behavior of the cops, and their behavior while arresting people. Isacc Asimov’s “Shah Guido G” gives a clue to what type of story it turns out to be. ---
**Author:** ![Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/f19dbf/32.png) [@Only\_Mostly\_Dead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Only_Mostly_Dead)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 12:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/14 "2007-03-17T00:07:12Z")
[QUOTE=Marisa] Isn’t their a song called “Download This Song” - catchy but talking about mp3s and music labels and after awhile it’s like “whoever you are you can’t write good lyrics about this subject and now it’s a whinge” but the title is like Hoffman’s “Steal This Book” [/QUOTE] There is also an album, “Steal this Album,” by System of a Down. ---
**Author:** ![Saltire](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/saltire/32/553_2.png) [@Saltire](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saltire)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 12:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/15 "2007-03-17T00:08:23Z")
[QUOTE=Marisa] Isn’t their a song called “Download This Song” - catchy but talking about mp3s and music labels and after awhile it’s like “whoever you are you can’t write good lyrics about this subject and now it’s a whinge” but the title is like Hoffman’s “Steal This Book” [/QUOTE] I know Weird Al Yankovic has a song available on his website as a free download titled, “Don’t Download this Song.” ---
**Author:** ![Justin\_Bailey](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/justin_bailey/32/8792_2.png) [@Justin\_Bailey](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Justin_Bailey)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/16 "2007-03-17T00:48:24Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] Desi Arnaz titled his autobiography _A Book_, since that’s what it was, after all. [/QUOTE] Whoopi Goldberg went one better and titled her autobiography _Book_ ---
**Author:** ![ianzin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@ianzin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ianzin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 2:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/17 "2007-03-17T02:04:21Z")
There was a British rock band called Sad Cafe. They released an album alled **Facades** , this being an anagram of ‘Sad Cafe’. (The band’s name was itself taken from the title of a novel, The Ballad Of The Sad Cafe.) When Rick Wakeman formed his first band, he called it **Sour Milk**. Because as the time, Cream were the biggest band in rock. One of the first mainstream books about the crop circle phenomenon, and the seeming difficulty of establishing a definitive explanation, was called **Round In Circles**. A magician called Simon Aronson published some small booklets for the magic trade, each of which was well-regarded. After some time, people asked him to put these small booklets together in one single volume, thus making them easier to get and to refer to. Aronson eventually did so. He called the collection, **Bound To Please**. ---
**Author:** ![Nature\_s\_Call](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/nature_s_call/32/19006_2.png) [@Nature\_s\_Call](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nature_s_Call)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/18 "2007-03-17T02:16:14Z")
[QUOTE=mobo85] In a similar vein, a satire of history textbooks written by the staff of _The Daily Show_ was titled _America: the Book_, presumably so it wouldn’t be confused with America the country. [/QUOTE] The subtitle too is clever: “A Citizen’s Guide to Democracy Inaction” ---
**Author:** ![SpoilerVirgin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/4491bb/32.png) [@SpoilerVirgin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SpoilerVirgin)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 2:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/19 "2007-03-17T02:27:44Z")
Ruth Rendell wrote a very good mystery called **Simisola**. I read it only because I had heard that you don’t learn the meaning of the title until the last word of the book. One of my favorites by Agatha Christie is **Why Didn’t They Ask Evans?** , which turns out to be a really great title for this mystery, making it all the more incomprehensible that they changed the title for the American release to something that reveals the secret of the original title (which is why I won’t post it here). ---
**Author:** ![Revedge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ecae2f/32.png) [@Revedge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Revedge)\ **Post date:** [March 17, 2007, 6:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240/20 "2007-03-17T06:17:33Z")
My favorite title is **Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep?** First there is the initial mental visual of artificial beings dreaming of artificial sheep. (Robots counting robot sheep.) But as you read the book it goes becomes a deeper meaning about when an artificail intelligence becomes intelligent enough, is it human. With human desires. _Edited because I am not as intellegent as my spellchecker_ [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/really-clever-titles/396240.md?page=2)