So there I was this morning, wearing my Star Trek “redshirt” bathrobe and Spider-Man slippers as I bent over my eggs and coffee, crossword puzzle splayed out on the breakfast table beside me, when I saw it.
67 across.
Right between 66 across (“Muy ____!”) and 68 across (“Holy Toledo!”). It read: “____ Technica, website for gadget news.
I tapped my pen against my nose and pondered.
I mean, I for Ars Technica, the finest digital publication known to humanity. Yes, we cover “gadget news.” And sure, we’re read by 15 million unique readers each month. But are we really to serve as a mainstream clue in the daily crossword? Have the nerds truly conquered culture? And does this mean none of us would ever need to stumble out of our home offices and into those “real jobs” our parents warned us about?
A cross-check was in order. 47 down was “director Kurosawa,” a reference to Kurosawa, director of . 48 down was “lowest point”—the . And 49 down was “music players of the 2000s.” ?
Taking the last letter of each of these three words revealed the answer to 67 across: A. R. S.
So there you go. On August 7, 2018, Ars Editor-in-Chief Ken Fisher’s 20-year dream was realized at last; Ars Technica had arrived.
I stood up, cinched my bathrobe belt with satisfaction, and made the 30-foot commute to my office. I had work to do. Important, globe-spanning editorial work fit to shake the pillars of heaven. Because I work at , world-renowned technology news site… and official crossword clue.