But seriously, folks …
Some years back, we had the pleasure of seeing Steve Martin perform, not as a comedian but playing banjo with a bluegrass group known as the Steep Canyon Rangers. The performance took place on the lawn of the U.S. Capitol during the National Symphony Orchestra’s annual Fourth of July celebration in D.C. Introducing the initial number, Steve Martin said, “Our first song is a sing-along. But it has no lyrics, so … good luck!”
This week’s acrostic is based on a quote from Martin’s 2007 book, Born Standing Up, which chronicles his early life doing stand-up comedy and also explains his decision to leave that life behind. We find it enlightening that he calls the book a biography, rather than a memoir or an autobiography, “because I am writing about someone I used to know.” In the years that followed his time doing stand-up, of course, Martin has emerged as a multidimensional artist of extraordinary range, versatility, and depth.
While recognizing Martin’s many other talents and pursuits, we chose to focus this puzzle on comedy and on the comedians who keep us laughing, including current stars, like Amy Schumer, and stars from bygone eras, such as Abbott and Costello. For those of you who might not have caught the reference in Clue/Answer U, or may simply wish to revisit an early gem that has stood the test of time:
How many references to comedy and comedians did you find? And have any of you heard any good jokes lately? We need to keep laughing …
Great fun and a wonderful passage by a true genius.
I had an interesting adventure with clue G, which is hilarious in its own right: After entering the first letter as A and the third as Y, my first guess, which fit, was Al Yankovic. That led to a couple of unlikely combinations in the quote — and he does song rather than book parodies. So then I tried Amy… Poehler, which also fit. But I didn’t think it was her either. I could visualize who I thought it was but blocked on her name until more letters came into place.
Your terrific Acrostics are a fortnighly pleasure!
Quite an enjoyable solving experience, with a terrific quote from a man of many talents (comedian, actor, banjo player, art collector).
I also liked the multiple Seinfeld references:
– B: TOMS (Tom’s was the diner where Jerry, George, Elaine, and Kramer hung out)
– M: OUTING (At least for me, this entry brought to mind the classic “Not that there’s anything wrong with it” episode)
– P: SEINFELD (Obviously)
– S: NOTHING (“Seinfeld” was famously the “show about nothing”)
Although Steve Martin put his “wild-and-crazy-guy” shtick behind him decades ago, I still enjoy this classic SNL sketch from that period of his career:
– https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYbavuReVF4