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.
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)
“Refrain to-night, And that shall lend a kind of easiness to the next abstinence: the next more easy; For use almost can change the stamp of nature.”— William Shakespeare, 1601, Hamlet, Act III. Sc. 4 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=K B=D C=J D=P E=H F=I G=Q H=X I=Y J=E K=O L=B M=N N=C O=S P=R Q=U R=A S=F T=W U=V V=T W=Z X=L Y=G Z=M
“Discretion of speech is more than eloquence; and to speak agreeably to him with whom we deal is more than to speak in good words or in good order.”— Francis Bacon, 1625, Essays, Of Discourse (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=U B=T C=A D=C E=D F=V G=F H=Z I=Q J=W K=N L=K M=I N=G O=B P=S Q=R R=L S=Y T=P U=H V=M W=O X=E Y=X Z=J
“These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation.”— Thomas Jefferson, 1801, First Inaugural AddressCipher key: A=M B=D C=Y D=H E=Q F=T G=A H=K I=P J=E K=N L=O M=J N=L O=V P=I Q=C R=B S=W T=G U=R V=Z W=X X=S Y=U Z=F
“Here you would know and enjoy what posterity will say of Washington. For a thousand leagues have nearly the same effect with a thousand years.”— Benjamin Franklin, 1780, Letter to Washington, March 5, 1780 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=J B=L C=W D=Q E=V F=Y G=T H=E I=D J=X K=M L=C M=B N=I O=Z P=A Q=R R=G S=F T=N U=H V=K W=P X=O Y=S Z=U
“Make it a point to do something every day that you don't want to do. This is the golden rule for acquiring the habit of doing your duty without pain.”— Mark Twain, 1897, Following the EquatorCipher key: A=I B=O C=H D=T E=L F=R G=S H=V I=C J=N K=J L=A M=G N=W O=P P=U Q=E R=D S=X T=Q U=K V=M W=Y X=Z Y=F Z=B
“We must strive mightily, but having striven there is a defect in our political and social system if we are not in general rewarded with success.”— Calvin Coolidge, 1926, State of the Union AddressCipher key: A=X B=S C=B D=T E=V F=W G=O H=R I=U J=Q K=C L=M M=A N=D O=H P=J Q=Z R=I S=P T=F U=K V=Y W=E X=N Y=L Z=G