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)
“The public weal requires that men should betray and lie and massacre.”— Michel de Montaigne, 1588, Essays, Book III, Chap. I. Of Profit and Honesty (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=X B=Z C=B D=S E=J F=K G=O H=C I=T J=H K=A L=P M=N N=V O=Y P=L Q=W R=I S=Q T=E U=R V=D W=G X=F Y=U Z=M
“Nature still offers her bounty and human efforts have multiplied it.”— Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933, First Inaugural AddressCipher key: A=V B=G C=P D=E E=Y F=A G=M H=U I=C J=W K=R L=J M=X N=B O=D P=T Q=N R=Z S=F T=H U=K V=Q W=S X=L Y=I Z=O
“An ambassador is an honest man sent to lie abroad for the commonwealth.”— Sir Henry Wotton, 1651, Reliquiae Wottonianae (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=Y B=X C=K D=Q E=C F=A G=E H=J I=P J=G K=N L=O M=F N=B O=R P=H Q=T R=M S=D T=V U=I V=W W=Z X=L Y=S Z=U
“Truth is as impossible to be soiled by any outward touch as the sunbeam.”— John Milton, 1643, The Doctrine and Discipline of Divorce (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=R B=K C=N D=Y E=C F=V G=H H=P I=Q J=U K=F L=O M=G N=W O=I P=Z Q=A R=T S=X T=M U=J V=B W=E X=L Y=D Z=S
“True love is like ghosts, which everybody talks about and few have seen.”— Francois de La Rochefoucauld, 1665, Maximes, 76 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=L B=J C=A D=E E=Y F=M G=Q H=U I=S J=V K=T L=B M=K N=P O=F P=H Q=C R=W S=I T=O U=G V=N W=Z X=R Y=X Z=D
“The true way to be deceived is to think oneself more knowing than others.”— Francois de La Rochefoucauld, 1665, Maximes, 127 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=Y B=W C=Q D=U E=T F=V G=N H=O I=Z J=C K=F L=H M=B N=E O=R P=K Q=P R=S S=I T=X U=D V=L W=J X=G Y=M Z=A