Memorable but cryptic

Have you ever heard of these 14 alternative book titles that never were?

Image: Pixabay

Titles are our first introduction to books. From what we gather on the cover, we expect to get a glimpse of the journey the writer will take us on. But have you ever finished reading a book and still not known why it was titled that way? While some authors include passages that explain their chosen titles, others prefer to preserve the mystery or leave room for interpretation. Let’s decode some catchy yet enigmatic book titles!

Image: Natasha Arefyeva

Scottish poet and lyricist Robert Burns penned Comin’ Thro’ the Rye, the text that Holden Caulfield misquotes in the book written by J.D. Salinger, and which gives the novel its title.

In a fantasy, Holden imagines himself standing in a field of rye, catching children who are playing near the edge of a cliff before they fall into the abyss—just as he longs to protect them from the hardships of growing up. Previous short stories by the author featuring Holden had been named Slight Rebellion off Madison and I’m Crazy.

Image: AXP Photography

Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises is known by an alternative title in some countries: **Fiesta**—a clear nod to the novel’s Spanish setting and the celebratory atmosphere of the bull runs.

However, on second thought, the author decided to change the title to shine the spotlight on the novel’s exploration of morality. He ultimately chose The Sun Also Rises, drawing inspiration from the Bible—specifically, a passage from Ecclesiastes: "The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose."

Image: Camila Melo

A captivating title that sets us up for a nostalgic—and lengthy—book. Gabriel García Márquez’s masterpiece almost had a far less poetic title: The House. Thankfully, he reconsidered and chose One Hundred Years of Solitude.

This multigenerational family saga is marked by characters who experience isolation—both from the world and each other. Fun fact: Márquez reportedly struggled with the title until the phrase came to him in a moment of inspiration while driving.

Image: Joshua J. Cotten

Robert Burns did it again! This time Robert Burns’ poem To a Mouse was the inspiration for Steinbeck’s Of Mice and Men which includes the famous line: "The best-laid schemes of mice and men often go awry."

Since the novel explores themes of shattered dreams and fragile plans, Steinbeck’s choice was both poignant and literary. Interestingly, he almost titled it **Something That Happened**—a name so vague it could apply to nearly any book!

Image: Leyre

This title is one of the most intriguing on the list—reminiscent of a modern essay or a TED Talk. Philip K. Dick’s sci-fi classic is thought-provoking from the very start. Published in the late ’60s, it was ahead of its time in exploring artificial intelligence and what it means to be human versus machine.

The Electric Toad was one alternative title the author considered. And in case you didn’t know, this book was indeed adapted for the big screen—under a much sleeker name: Blade Runner.

Image: Wonderlane

Cormac McCarthy didn’t originally plan to write a novel at all—it started as a screenplay! But the title was set from the beginning.

The story, centered on Sheriff Bell and his sense of displacement in a violent world, takes its name from the opening line of W.B. Yeats’s poem Sailing to Byzantium: "That is no country for old men."

Image: MICHAEL CHIARA

Did you know that Faulkner’s famous work could have easily been mistaken for a vampire fantasy romance novel? He originally considered naming it Twilight instead of The Sound and the Fury.

Thankfully, he opted for a line from Shakespeare’s Macbeth: "Life is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." The title reflects the chaotic narrative of the Compson family’s decline, as well as the futility of their struggles.

Image: Sonder Quest

It was going to be called **The Harvest Gypsies**—not quite grand enough for what would become John Steinbeck’s celebrated novel, The Grapes of Wrath.

It was his wife, Carol, who suggested the final title, inspired by Julia Ward Howe’s Battle Hymn of the Republic, which includes the line, "He is trampling out the vintage where the grapes of wrath are stored." The phrase perfectly encapsulated the novel’s themes of suffering, resilience, and the fight for dignity during the Great Depression.

Image: Pierre Bamin

Offred was the original title Margaret Atwood had for her novel—a fitting choice, as it’s the name of the narrator and protagonist. However, she ultimately changed it in a nod to Geoffrey Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, where each story is told from a different character’s perspective.

In this dystopian novel, it is Offred, a repressed woman forced into childbearing, who tells the story.

Image: Jan Huber

Toni Morrison’s Beloved almost had a completely different title: The Six-Minute Gap. This referred to the time it took for the schoolteacher to arrive and stop Sethe from killing her children—a pivotal moment in the novel.

Morrison cleverly shifted to Beloved, the name of an important character, but also a haunting and mocking title to tell the story of a mother tortured by her past decisions.

Image: Yulia Gadalina

Gravity's Rainbow and **Mindless Pleasures**—neither title reveals much about the story, yet both were considered by Thomas Pynchon for his novel.

The final title may sound poetic or philosophical, which could be intentional. But, strictly speaking, it has a concrete meaning: it refers to the arc of a V-2 rocket’s flight—a parabola shaped like a rainbow, the consequence of gravity. This trajectory serves as a central symbol in the book.

Image: Immo Wegmann

Joseph Heller coined the term Catch-22 to describe a nonsensical bureaucratic rule that torments the main character in his novel. The phrase resonated so strongly with readers that it became synonymous with paradoxical dilemmas.

Originally, Heller planned to title his book Catch-18, but editors urged him to change it to avoid confusion with Mila 18, another novel. He briefly considered Catch-11 and Catch-14 before finally settling on _Catch-22_—a choice that would make literary history.

Image: Shot by Cerqueira

Salman Rushdie’s Midnight’s Children originally had a slightly different working title: Children of Midnight. The term refers to children born at the precise moment of India’s independence, who, in this magical realism novel, possess extraordinary powers.

Rushdie has said the title came to him early and stuck—fortunately so, as Children of Midnight sounds more like a spooky bedtime story than a sweeping epic about identity and destiny.

GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!

Touchdown! Do You Know These Ten Idioms From The World Of Sports?

Image: Riley McCullough

It is said that baseball is America’s favorite pastime, but we would like to argue that several other sports are heavy contenders for the title. Or perhaps it would be more suitable to consider that the thrill of sports themselves fuel millions of Americans every day. From the excitement of a "Hail Mary" pass being completed, to an indomitable boxer getting up for one more round, sports are undeniably an essential part of American culture.

We might sometimes fail to realize how many of our everyday expressions come from the world of sports. With that in mind, we have gathered ten of our favorite sports idioms for your enjoyment. Some you know, and some might be a bit of a surprise. Who knows? You might end up with a new catchphrase for the next game you watch with your friends.

Image: Samuel-Elias Nadler

We’ll begin this list with one of the most popular sports idioms out there. Whenever you hear someone say "The ball is in your court now", you might suddenly feel burdened with the responsibility of taking action. And while this is its most common use, this idiom might also mean an opportunity to make amazing things happen.

The origins of this idiom most likely come from the world of tennis, since a player might only take action whenever the ball is on their side of the court. While this phrase was most popular during the 1970s, it can be traced back to the 19th century.

Image: Riley McCullough

A "Hail Mary" is a last-minute, long-distance pass, usually made in a last-ditch attempt to score. While other popular sports like basketball had some incredible "Hail Mary" moments, this move is mostly associated with football. The perhaps most iconic Hail Mary pass happened in a 1984 game between the Miami Hurricanes and the Boston College Eagles when Boston quarterback Doug Flutie made a 63-yard successful pass that resulted in a touchdown. This iconic game is now known as "the Hail Flutie", and a statue of Flutie commemorating the pass was unveiled in Boston College in 2008.

The origins of this idiom come from Christianity, most accurately from the "Hail Mary" prayer. Considering the difficult odds of completing this pass, the play references a prayer for help and success.

Image: Keith Johnston

This one is a bit of a mystery. The idiom "Out of left field", which means something that is very surprising or completely unexpected, comes from baseball. What’s not completely clear is why baseballs thrown from the left field are considered odd or unexpected, since most batters are right-handed and would tend to hit the ball onto the left field. Some people believe that, because left fielders tend to be the most far out, a fast throw from the left field would be an unexpected surprise.

According to music historian Arnold Shaw, this idiom was first used by the music industry to refer to songs that unexpectedly performed well. In the 1940s, "Out of left field" hits were heavily promoted by song pluggers as songs that were easily sold.

Image: Nemesia Production

Allow us to describe this idiom with a timeless cinematic scene. In the first "Rocky" movie, after the up-and-coming new boxer knocks Apollo Creed for the first time, the enraged heavyweight champion launches a flurry of punches at Rocky. The Italian Stallion can only protect himself, and finds himself restricted to the corner of the ring. This image is a perfect example of being on the ropes: to be in an extremely desperate situation, from which it's very difficult to recover.

Image: Johann Walter Bantz

Another staple of boxing films is the iconic countdown when the underdog hits the canvas after what seems to be a defeating punch. What follows is an excruciating count, on which our hero pulls out his last hurrah and stands right before a referee in slow motion as it reaches ten.

While its origins obviously come from boxing, this idiom is extremely popular and regularly used in American slang. Its connotation is usually of being completely defeated, and unable to recover from a spectacular beatdown.

Image: Jose Francisco Morales

A tricky question on an exam or an awkward dinner with the in-laws are some of the curveballs that life usually throws at us. This idiom is used to describe an unexpected and tough situation or problem, and it of course comes from baseball.

There is actually some debate on who threw the first curveball, but what we do know is that it was in the 19th century. Fred Goldsmith, one of the players who claims to have thrown the first curveball, would set poles on a baseball field and amaze fans by throwing a curve between them.

Image: Ryan Reinoso

We have all dropped the ball at some point in our lives. Maybe we said the wrong thing on a first date or forgot to pick up the dry cleaning before they closed for the weekend. To "drop the ball" is an expression used for making a mistake, or for forgetting something important.

This idiom comes from football, in which a pass has to be caught in order to be completed. Dropping the ball would result in an incomplete pass or, worse, on the opposing team gaining possession.

Image: Attentie Attentie

It seems that the world of boxing is ripe with idioms, as a third expression originated in "the sweet science" makes it to this list. To go the distance means to fully commit to a challenge, and it references when a fighter would last the entire length of a fight instead of being knocked down early.

Nowadays, the idiom is used to highlight the endurance and resilience of someone facing an adverse or challenging situation, and their willingness to see it through.

Image: Keith Johnston

This idiom sounds way more negative than it actually is. If you heard that someone is "running interference" on you, you might be suspicious and think that this ill-intentioned stranger is trying to sabotage your life in any way. However, it might surprise you to know that this idiom means the opposite: If you are running interference on someone, you are in fact trying to deal with someone’s problems as soon as they happen. This idiom comes from the way football players protect the player who has the ball by physically blocking the opposing team.

Image: Clark Tai

Some parents believe that the best way to teach a kid to swim is to throw them into the deep end of a swimming pool, in order for their survival instincts to kick in. While we definitively don’t approve of this method, a situation like this was more than likely the origin of this idiom.

To be "thrown in at the deep end" means to make someone begin a difficult challenge (like a new job) without preparing them for it. As we mentioned before, this idiom comes from the different ends of a swimming pool, of which one is shallow for beginners while the other is deeper and more suitable for experts.