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
Looking through the clues to find those I knew, “L” was obviously YOGURT. Until it wasn’t. Pretty sneaky, say I.
After the April 20 acrostic, I read The Things They Carried. I had not heard of the book before, but it is memorable and I recommend it to anyone who has not encountered it. Thank you for choosing it.
That was fairly tough to crack. Yes, Toms is a genius move.
No Laurel and Hardy, but there is Thomas Hardy.
Hardy, har, har.
Another great puzzle! And I certainly agree about Steve Martin’s brilliance.
I counted 17 of the 25 clues were at least tangentially related to humor. The more obscure (or questionable) ones, by my count, are:
Vanguard – the Village Vanguard in New York City is primarily known for showcasing jazz greats, but in the 1950s, it also hosted comic talents as various as Lenny Bruce, “Professor”Irwin Corey, Wally Cox and Jack Gilford.
Blond – “blonde jokes“ are way, way past their “sell by” date (on the dubious assumption they were ever funny; I always found them as offensive as Polish jokes). But I suppose they deserve a dishonored place in low comedy history.
The exact same jokes can be sanitized and recycled into mocking how dumb your collegiate rival supposedly is. For instance, undergrads and alumni of the University of Texas revel in making “Aggie” jokes.
Noogie – Not humorous if applied too vigorously. But the concept has comic overtones. And the word itself is, well, funny.
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Also, so nice to see the old Abbott and Costello routine still has vitality. Not much humor still works after 75 years. The original is still the best, but Jimmy Fallon did a very nice update, along with Billy Crystal and Jerry Seinfeld. Here’s the link:
https://youtu.be/K0Jg7pvVzKk?si=us46h6_yR6X5xD4G
This is not about a specific acrostic but about all in the last couple of months: I used to complete around 4 out of 5 Times acrostics and over the past couple of months have had to do the unthinkable: look up words( bryophyte, paranomasia) and, even so, haven’t been to complete any of the last few. Used to be so happy when I finished one! Has something changed?
Sorry my comment appeared twice. But please disregard it- I finished this one!
I grew up with comedy all around. “Well…” Jack Benny was revered in my family. Dad imitated him all the time as does my brother, still. Granddad was a practical joker, with dribble glasses and hand buzzers. The first clue I got here was I DON’T KNOW. It’s ingrained. Dad’s favorite film… “It’s A Mad Mad Mad Mad World.” From Durante kicking the bucket, Jonathan Winters on the little bicycle and on, he was laughing so hard he was practically on the floor. The arrow in the head of Steve Martin made a big impression on me. [snort] He is brilliant. So many comedians are, even outside of standup. Fun puzzle. There is still much to laugh at.
Stan Laurel is still a favorite, as is Paula Poundstone… all “Just swell…”
Thanks to all, constructors and commenters, for the challenge of solving, the reward of finishing, and the enriching “afterwords.” This puzzle was unusually hard for me to get into; for a long time I was groping in the dark to get a handle on the theme. Some lucky pattern-recognition guesses allowed me to break through.
We have a friend who loves puns. Does that make him a paronomasic? Or perhaps he is paronomasical? Is that curable?
We love your acrostics — this was one of your very best! We really struggled with clue “L” We tried every edible “variety” we could think of. A great piece of misdirection.
Thanks for making our every other Sunday afternoons so interesting.
Dear Friends,
Thanks very much for your feedback, as always. We really enjoyed the two videos for which you provided links. We had no idea that Jimmy Fallon et al. had updated the “Who’s on First” skit. Fantastic!
One allusion to comedian Rodney Dangerfield went unmentioned in your comments — “Respect” (which, admittedly, we clued sideways). It was also fun to make “ratted” (unthematic answer) tie in to humor via a clue which included “teased.”
Here’s to maintaining our senses of humor!