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)
“Sure, he that made us with such large discourse, Looking before and after, gave us not that capability and godlike reason to fust in us unused.”— William Shakespeare, 1601, Hamlet, Act IV. Sc. 4 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=F B=L C=I D=C E=W F=M G=E H=Z I=J J=A K=V L=Y M=N N=X O=T P=Q Q=R R=D S=P T=S U=O V=K W=H X=G Y=U Z=B
“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=J B=O C=X D=A E=F F=Y G=C H=K I=L J=E K=U L=M M=B N=S O=V P=I Q=R R=W S=Z T=D U=N V=H W=G X=P Y=T Z=Q
“When we mean to build, We first survey the plot, then draw the model; And when we see the figure of the house, Then must we rate the cost of the erection.”— William Shakespeare, 1598, King Henry IV, Part II, Act I. Sc. 3 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=K B=E C=U D=X E=B F=D G=Q H=Y I=S J=N K=H L=W M=F N=A O=M P=T Q=O R=I S=L T=R U=G V=C W=P X=J Y=Z Z=V
“The Retort Courteous; . . . the Quip Modest; . . . the Reply Churlish; . . . the Reproof Valiant; . . . the Countercheck Quarrelsome; . . . the Lie with Circumstance; . . . the Lie Direct.”— William Shakespeare, 1600, As You Like It, Act V. Sc. 4 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=W B=O C=K D=G E=P F=N G=Z H=Y I=A J=I K=X L=H M=J N=M O=U P=C Q=E R=F S=L T=S U=D V=R W=V X=B Y=Q Z=T
“There shall be in England seven halfpenny loaves sold for a penny; the three-hooped pot shall have ten hoops; and I will make it felony to drink small beer.”— William Shakespeare, 1592, King Henry VI, Part II. Act IV. Sc. 2 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=R B=G C=Q D=I E=D F=A G=T H=B I=C J=O K=W L=V M=Y N=S O=N P=L Q=U R=E S=M T=F U=Z V=X W=P X=K Y=H Z=J