5 cryptograms to solve with a pencil. Each letter of the quote has been swapped for another letter, and the same swap holds all the way through.
20 pt ciphertext — the size a newspaper puzzle page never gives you. 26 pt ciphertext with wide letter spacing and room to write. Both sizes print on US Letter with the answer key on its own page.
Printing this web page instead? Press Ctrl+P (⌘+P on a Mac). The navigation and buttons drop away, and the answer key prints on its own page — open it below first if you want it included.
Decoder — write your answer under each cipher letter:
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W
X
Y
Z
Solver's cheat sheet
Most common letters
E T A O I N S H R D L U
Most common 1-letter words
A I
Most common 2-letter words
OF TO IN IT IS BE AS AT SO WE HE BY OR ON DO IF ME MY UP AN GO NO US AM
Most common 3-letter words
THE AND FOR ARE BUT NOT YOU ALL ANY CAN HER WAS ONE OUR OUT DAY GET HAS HIM HIS HOW MAN NEW NOW OLD SEE TWO WAY WHO BOY DID ITS LET PUT SAY SHE TOO USE
Common double letters
LL EE SS OO TT FF RR NN PP CC
Common word endings
-ING -ION -ENT -TION -LY -ED -ER -EST
After an apostrophe
T (don't) S (it's) RE (we're) VE (I've) LL (we'll) D (I'd)
“It takes a good deal of time to eat or to sleep, or to earn a hundred dollars, and a very little time to entertain a hope and an insight which becomes the light of our life.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844, Essays: Second SeriesCipher key: A=L B=J C=P D=Z E=G F=N G=B H=W I=F J=T K=O L=C M=V N=R O=E P=X Q=H R=K S=Y T=U U=A V=S W=M X=Q Y=I Z=D
“Our future progress and prosperity depend upon our ability to equal, if not surpass, other nations in the enlargement and advance of science, industry, and commerce.”— William McKinley, 1899, Third Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=C B=F C=Y D=V E=M F=H G=S H=N I=A J=X K=L L=W M=K N=U O=J P=Z Q=D R=P S=B T=I U=G V=Q W=E X=R Y=O Z=T
“You meaner beauties of the night, That poorly satisfy our eyes more by your number than your light; You common people of the skies, - What are you when the moon shall rise?”— Sir Henry Wotton, 1651, Reliquiae Wottonianae, On his Mistress, the Queen of Bohemia (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=Q B=S C=V D=B E=N F=U G=W H=Y I=R J=L K=H L=G M=I N=F O=X P=Z Q=K R=O S=T T=A U=M V=E W=D X=C Y=J Z=P
“We owe it to future generations to keep alive the noble and beautiful creatures which by their presence add such distinctive character to the American wilderness.”— Theodore Roosevelt, 1904, Fourth Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=X B=T C=A D=G E=P F=I G=S H=K I=D J=U K=M L=J M=Y N=C O=Z P=N Q=B R=E S=V T=F U=L V=O W=H X=W Y=Q Z=R
“This is the just and generous and prosperous system which opens the way to all, gives hope to all, and consequent energy and progress and improvement of condition to all.”— Abraham Lincoln, 1861, First Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=F B=T C=G D=I E=N F=H G=Q H=W I=L J=U K=X L=B M=C N=O O=M P=A Q=Z R=J S=K T=S U=R V=P W=D X=Y Y=V Z=E