Puzzle 1
Starter clue: D = E
KDCCDHVIVYCUDHHRXNMXEMOHMAXCVKYD,CUVXVSHDIUZRQDMXVXMCUDHGVX'I.
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
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- T
- U
- V
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- X
- Y
- Z
Medium Cryptograms Set 104
6 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.
The puzzles
Puzzle 2
Starter clue: F = E
HFAAFRARSGNFOSCHFMJLGFOTGF,ILJRPJJRFITSJAAZTLRUDFFWMFSGAZTGF.
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
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- X
- Y
- Z
Puzzle 3
Starter clue: V = T
VDPEAMXAMJVZAQDJBEASPVABVJU,LHBVJBVDPVMJOPHQZAQDJBEASPVABVJU.
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
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- X
- Y
- Z
Puzzle 4
Starter clue: P = E
NPBNTSYHPQKTWYLPTRXZSSXPSNZKUQ,BZXXKTSNYJPSNPWYLPTRULPYSTKPQ.
Decoder — write your answer under each cipher letter:
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
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- Y
- Z
Puzzle 5
Starter clue: Z = I
QJWFYZNZQPLYKQNZPQZFXZFSIZMWNFKGKIAZFWMWNZIDNWKFZIVZILWNMPN.
Decoder — write your answer under each cipher letter:
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
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- X
- Y
- Z
Puzzle 6
Starter clue: A = E
VEFIJORTAWCAZUTVYTIILESWEPIKEWVKARWOOESAQWUTABJEEAZARVKWRWU.
Decoder — write your answer under each cipher letter:
- A
- B
- C
- D
- E
- F
- G
- H
- I
- J
- K
- L
- M
- N
- O
- P
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- R
- S
- T
- U
- V
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- 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)
Want this on its own sheet? Print the letter frequency chart.
Show the answer key (6 solutions)
- “Better a salt herring on your own table, than a fresh pike on another man's.”— Danish proverb, 1857, Recorded with English translation in Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857)Cipher key: A=W B=J C=T D=E E=Y F=C G=M H=R I=S J=Z K=B L=D M=O N=G O=U P=V Q=K R=I S=F T=Q U=H V=A W=X X=N Y=L Z=P
- “Vessels large may venture more, But little boats should keep near shore.”— Benjamin Franklin, 1757, The Way to Wealth (Poor Richard, 1758), Maxims prefixed to Poor Richard's Almanac, 1757 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=S B=Q C=Y D=K E=J F=E G=R H=V I=B J=T K=Z L=U M=N N=G O=M P=I Q=W R=L S=A T=O U=D V=F W=P X=C Y=X Z=H
- “The corporation has come to stay, just as the trade union has come to stay.”— Theodore Roosevelt, 1905, Fifth Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=O B=S C=Z D=H E=C F=G G=L H=U I=K J=A K=W L=J M=R N=B O=D P=E Q=N R=X S=M T=Q U=Y V=T W=F X=P Y=V Z=I
- “He who takes no care of little things, will not have the care of great ones.”— German proverb, 1857, Recorded with English translation in Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857)Cipher key: A=Z B=W C=Y D=X E=D F=U G=B H=K I=P J=V K=N L=R M=Q N=H O=M P=E Q=S R=F S=T T=O U=G V=J W=C X=L Y=A Z=I
- “The spirit of patriotism is universal and is ever increasing in fervor.”— William McKinley, 1897, First Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=D B=Y C=X D=C E=Z F=S G=L H=J I=N J=H K=A L=F M=V N=R O=W P=O Q=T R=B S=U T=K U=Q V=G W=E X=M Y=P Z=I
- “It would be a very big book that contained all the maybes uttered in a day.”— French proverb, 1857, Recorded with English translation in Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857)Cipher key: A=E B=S C=V D=F E=T F=W G=Z H=P I=O J=U K=N L=K M=Q N=X O=L P=C Q=M R=D S=H T=B U=Y V=I W=A X=J Y=G Z=R