01.25.09 -- Extraction -- the Acrostic
Steve Martin, "The Little Shop of Horrors", 1986
----------------- Sunday, January 25, 2009 ACROSTIC, Puzzle by Emily Cox & Henry Rathvon, edited by Will Shortz This Sunday’s acrostic utilizes a quotation from Steve Martin’s Born Standing Up. A review of the book by NPR states in part: Steve Martin gave up stand-up comedy in 1981, at the height of his fame, moving on to acting and writing. Martin calls his new book Born Standing Up a biography rather than an autobiography of a guy he used to know. In the beginning, there was a string of small, quirky stages like the drive-in movie theater, where the audience honked at the punch lines. In the end, there were giant arenas and a life suffused, as he puts it, with a "freakish celebrity aura."
The quotation: MY MOST PERSISTENT MEMORY OF STAND-UP IS OF MY MOUTH BEING IN THE PRESENT AND MY MIND BEING IN THE FUTURE THE MOUTH SPEAKING THE LINE WHILE THE MIND IS OBSERVING ANALYZING WORRYING AND THEN DECIDING WHAT TO SAY NEXT The author’s name and the title of the work: STEVE MARTIN BORN STANDING UP The defined words: SHEBANG (A. Structure or contrivance in its entirety); TERMITE (B. Undermining force in the housing industry); ENDGAME (C. Lead-up to checkmate); VESTIGE (D. Footprint; survivor); EYETEST (E. Occasion for a Snellen chart [2 wds.]); MANHUNT (F. Attempt to find a fugitive); ALTHING (G. Assembly first convened in A.D. 930); RHYMING (H. Prominent feature of rap lyrics); THINKER (I. Sculpture in front of Columbia University’s Philosophy Hall, with “The”); IMHOTEP (J. Boris Karloff’s role in “The Mummy”); NUMBERS (K. Book covering a Sinai-to-Moab journey); BRUXISM (L. Grinding one’s teeth in one’s sleep); OPPIDAN (M. Of a town; townsman) ; RHIZOME (N. Edible part of ginger, e.g.); NIGHTLY (O. How Leander swam to Hero); SHERIFF (P. Job that evolved from “shire reeve”); TIMOTHY (Q. Grass grown mainly for fodder); ACIDITY (R. Soil condition favorable to azaleas); NOSWEAT (S. “Shouldn’t be a problem” [2 wds.]); DENTIST (T. Sadistic “Little Shop of Horrors” figure); INANITY (U. Complete lack of sense); NEWMOWN (V. Like hay in the song “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away” [hyph.]); GODSEND (W. Just what you need when you don’t expect it); UNFUNNY (X. Like a gag that bombs); POODLES (Y. Curly contestants for Best in Show). The full quote: I did stand-up comedy for eighteen years. Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success. My most persistent memory of stand-up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the mouth speaking the line, the body delivering the gesture, while the mind looks back, observing, analyzing, judging, worrying, and then deciding when and what to say next. Enjoyment while performing was rare—enjoyment would have been an indulgent loss of focus that comedy cannot afford. After the shows, however, I experienced long hours of elation or misery depending on how the show went, because doing comedy alone onstage is the ego's last stand. A few thorny defined words, including oppidan, rhizome and bruxism, plus a less than memorable quotation and my lack of interest in Steve Martin’s career, made this a solemn solve. However, there‘s no accounting for taste -- that‘s why they have menus in restaurants! 
Click on image to enlarge. Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
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The quotation: MY MOST PERSISTENT MEMORY OF STAND-UP IS OF MY MOUTH BEING IN THE PRESENT AND MY MIND BEING IN THE FUTURE THE MOUTH SPEAKING THE LINE WHILE THE MIND IS OBSERVING ANALYZING WORRYING AND THEN DECIDING WHAT TO SAY NEXT The author’s name and the title of the work: STEVE MARTIN BORN STANDING UP The defined words: SHEBANG (A. Structure or contrivance in its entirety); TERMITE (B. Undermining force in the housing industry); ENDGAME (C. Lead-up to checkmate); VESTIGE (D. Footprint; survivor); EYETEST (E. Occasion for a Snellen chart [2 wds.]); MANHUNT (F. Attempt to find a fugitive); ALTHING (G. Assembly first convened in A.D. 930); RHYMING (H. Prominent feature of rap lyrics); THINKER (I. Sculpture in front of Columbia University’s Philosophy Hall, with “The”); IMHOTEP (J. Boris Karloff’s role in “The Mummy”); NUMBERS (K. Book covering a Sinai-to-Moab journey); BRUXISM (L. Grinding one’s teeth in one’s sleep); OPPIDAN (M. Of a town; townsman) ; RHIZOME (N. Edible part of ginger, e.g.); NIGHTLY (O. How Leander swam to Hero); SHERIFF (P. Job that evolved from “shire reeve”); TIMOTHY (Q. Grass grown mainly for fodder); ACIDITY (R. Soil condition favorable to azaleas); NOSWEAT (S. “Shouldn’t be a problem” [2 wds.]); DENTIST (T. Sadistic “Little Shop of Horrors” figure); INANITY (U. Complete lack of sense); NEWMOWN (V. Like hay in the song “On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away” [hyph.]); GODSEND (W. Just what you need when you don’t expect it); UNFUNNY (X. Like a gag that bombs); POODLES (Y. Curly contestants for Best in Show). The full quote: I did stand-up comedy for eighteen years. Ten of those years were spent learning, four years were spent refining, and four were spent in wild success. My most persistent memory of stand-up is of my mouth being in the present and my mind being in the future: the mouth speaking the line, the body delivering the gesture, while the mind looks back, observing, analyzing, judging, worrying, and then deciding when and what to say next. Enjoyment while performing was rare—enjoyment would have been an indulgent loss of focus that comedy cannot afford. After the shows, however, I experienced long hours of elation or misery depending on how the show went, because doing comedy alone onstage is the ego's last stand. A few thorny defined words, including oppidan, rhizome and bruxism, plus a less than memorable quotation and my lack of interest in Steve Martin’s career, made this a solemn solve. However, there‘s no accounting for taste -- that‘s why they have menus in restaurants! 
Click on image to enlarge. Puzzle available on the internet at THE NEW YORK TIMES -- Crossword Puzzles and Games
Thanks for the write-up.
ReplyDeleteToo bad you don't like Mr. Martin. Here is one of his best stand-up routines: FLYDINI.