All Hail the Achievement Beard!
The achievement beard—a marker of triumphant lassitude, the victory lap after a long job well done—has been gaining currency in recent years among men who might like to move through the world noticeably unnoticed. It has become standard issue for an entertainer on the comedown from a high-intensity career: Stephen Colbert donned a seaworthy achievement beard during the nine-month hiatus between his first show and his new post in Letterman’s stead, and Jon Stewart has been growing one since stepping down from “The Daily Show,” in August.
.. The beard is a self-presented lifetime-achievement award, a modest way of underscoring what few people would dare to miss.
.. The achievement beard is definitionally low-maintenance.
.. The achievement-bearded Letterman is unlike the Letterman we know.