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)
“We can, however, do nothing of permanent value for peace unless we keep ever clearly in mind the ethical element which lies at the root of the problem.”— Theodore Roosevelt, 1905, Fifth Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=Q B=H C=Y D=E E=J F=A G=W H=K I=T J=X K=N L=G M=F N=M O=B P=R Q=U R=O S=V T=C U=I V=S W=Z X=P Y=D Z=L
“There is a sort of dead-alive, hackneyed people about, who are scarcely conscious of living except in the exercise of some conventional occupation.”— Robert Louis Stevenson, 1881, Virginibus Puerisque and Other PapersCipher key: A=R B=Y C=E D=S E=L F=G G=P H=I I=U J=A K=X L=Q M=B N=Z O=N P=J Q=C R=W S=K T=V U=D V=H W=M X=O Y=F Z=T
“In the best of possible worlds the chateau of monseigneur the baron was the most beautiful of chateaux, and madame the best of possible baronesses.”— Voltaire, 1759, Candide, Chap. I (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=S B=Q C=F D=P E=V F=A G=Z H=W I=K J=L K=G L=T M=U N=R O=M P=H Q=I R=Y S=E T=B U=D V=N W=X X=C Y=O Z=J
“One is that things do not touch the soul, for they are external and remain immovable; but our perturbations come only from the opinion which is within.”— Marcus Aurelius, 1862, Meditations (George Long translation, 1862)Cipher key: A=H B=Z C=M D=S E=F F=C G=I H=A I=Y J=L K=P L=G M=R N=T O=N P=K Q=V R=B S=Q T=J U=E V=D W=U X=O Y=W Z=X
“The heights by great men reached and kept were not attained by sudden flight, but they, while their companions slept, were toiling upward in the night.”— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1858, The Ladder of St. AugustineCipher key: A=P B=W C=L D=X E=Q F=A G=S H=O I=K J=D K=E L=V M=F N=Z O=I P=B Q=N R=Y S=J T=C U=M V=R W=H X=G Y=T Z=U
“We would not have an America living within and for herself alone, but we would have her self-reliant, independent, and ever nobler, stronger, and richer.”— Warren G. Harding, 1921, Inaugural AddressCipher key: A=V B=A C=G D=K E=C F=S G=D H=W I=X J=B K=F L=U M=Q N=O O=N P=M Q=L R=H S=E T=J U=Z V=I W=R X=T Y=P Z=Y