Henry Hook (crossword compiler)

Henry Hook (born 1955 in East Rutherford, New Jersey) is an American creator of crossword puzzles, widely credited with popularizing the cryptic crossword in North America. With Henry Rathvon and Emily Cox, he writes the crossword for the Boston Globe.

Hook began constructing crosswords at age 14, when he sent a rebuttal crossword to Eugene T. Maleska. Maleska's crossword contained the hidden message:

You Have Just Finished The World's Most Remarkable Crossword

Hook's crossword contained the hidden message:

What Makes You Think Your Puzzle Is More Remarkable Than Mine^[1]

In 1980, Hook joined the staff of Games.

Stanley Newman's official website has described one of Hook's puzzles as "one of the toughest crosswords (Newman) has ever published"; Matt Gaffney, the crossword constructor for Slate.com, described meeting Hook as being like "meeting Elvis." ^[2]

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