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)
“A hundred years of fretting will not pay a halfpenny of debt.”— French proverb, 1857, Recorded with English translation in Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857)Cipher key: A=Q B=X C=G D=F E=J F=P G=N H=W I=D J=V K=C L=K M=I N=U O=M P=Y Q=A R=T S=Z T=R U=B V=H W=E X=L Y=O Z=S
“We shall nobly save or meanly lose the last best hope of earth.”— Abraham Lincoln, 1862, Second Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=J B=I C=E D=U E=O F=C G=N H=Y I=K J=M K=G L=T M=X N=S O=V P=W Q=A R=P S=Q T=L U=Z V=H W=R X=B Y=D Z=F
“Charity gives itself rich, covetousness hoards itself poor.”— German proverb, 1857, Recorded with English translation in Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857)Cipher key: A=N B=D C=O D=B E=I F=C G=K H=U I=M J=P K=H L=S M=F N=L O=V P=A Q=E R=J S=X T=G U=T V=Q W=Y X=Z Y=R Z=W
“Don't scuffle with the potter, for he makes money by the damage.”— Spanish proverb, 1857, Recorded with English translation in Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857)Cipher key: A=X B=R C=P D=H E=L F=B G=K H=Z I=S J=C K=U L=G M=O N=M O=Q P=V Q=E R=A S=Y T=I U=N V=F W=D X=J Y=T Z=W
“The generous man grows rich in giving, the miser poor in taking.”— Danish proverb, 1857, Recorded with English translation in Henry G. Bohn, A Polyglot of Foreign Proverbs (London, 1857)Cipher key: A=I B=U C=A D=T E=R F=E G=M H=Y I=L J=V K=O L=F M=Z N=G O=K P=J Q=W R=S S=Q T=D U=P V=N W=C X=H Y=X Z=B
“Letting "I dare not" wait upon "I would," Like the poor cat i' the adage.”— William Shakespeare, 1606, Macbeth, Act I. Sc. 7 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=T B=Z C=O D=R E=Y F=Q G=M H=F I=W J=A K=J L=I M=E N=C O=X P=N Q=V R=G S=D T=L U=P V=S W=H X=B Y=K Z=U