20 Things You Didn't Know About A Clockwork Orange

By Adam Clery / November 25, 2021

12. The Name Was Just Something Overheard In A Pub

There have, admittedly, been a few different explanations offered by writer Anthony Burgess as to where the inspiration for the book and movie's title came from, but the most frequently quoted also happens to be the best.

Sitting in a London pub in 1945, he overheard someone talking and use the phrase "as queer as a clockwork orange". He liked it, and just assumed it must be some sort of rhyming slang he was unfamiliar with.