"Unhelpful"
You just, like, GET IT, you know?
“1 ACROSS • She’s in that thing about the guy who says the thing and it’s real creepy.”
This is the first clue for “Unhelpful,” a remarkable little puzzle from Chris Piuma. When I told this clue to Janice, she basically got it immediately!
The puzzle arrived right at the end of the year and I learned about it via Will Nediger’s blog—which walls off his description of it beyond a spoiler warning. I will excerpt a spoiler-free part of Nediger’s review…
“The clues are written so as to feel unhelpfully vague. In fact, they're expertly crafted to provide just enough information for a smooth and non-sloggy solve, which is quite a tightrope act to pull off.”
Check it out here! A new puzzle from me drops tomorrow!
Pretty crazy that the ONE puzzle Chris drops all year is the best puzzle of 2024 lol
I just finished that puzzle (took me 10:23), and that was...an experience. I didn't get 1 across right away, but I unlocked a few letters at the end and it snapped into place. 25 across and 28 across were a really cool pair as well. The first real break I had in solving was the bottom, especially once I had crosses at the end to be able to get 44 across.