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)
“Every thought which genius and piety throw into the world, alters the world.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1844, Essays: Second SeriesCipher key: A=Y B=F C=I D=E E=G F=H G=W H=V I=J J=L K=B L=O M=S N=T O=U P=R Q=Z R=N S=C T=Q U=M V=D W=X X=K Y=A Z=P
“All men plume themselves on the improvement of society, and no man improves.”— Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1841, Essays: First SeriesCipher key: A=R B=O C=G D=F E=U F=J G=S H=Z I=K J=N K=I L=Y M=P N=H O=T P=X Q=D R=E S=B T=C U=Q V=L W=V X=A Y=M Z=W
“The best plan is, as the common proverb has it, to profit by the folly of others.”— Pliny the Elder, 77, Natural History (Naturalis Historia), Book XVIII. Sect. 31 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=K B=F C=M D=G E=V F=D G=B H=E I=R J=U K=X L=P M=A N=J O=Q P=O Q=H R=T S=W T=S U=I V=C W=Z X=Y Y=L Z=N
“Why should not conscience have vacation as well as other courts o' th' nation?”— Samuel Butler, 1664, Hudibras, Part II, Canto II. Line 317 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=X B=O C=Q D=H E=M F=B G=Z H=C I=T J=U K=N L=P M=J N=F O=Y P=A Q=I R=E S=V T=W U=S V=R W=K X=L Y=G Z=D
“Let us be thankful for the fools. But for them the rest of us could not succeed.”— Mark Twain, 1897, Following the EquatorCipher key: A=N B=C C=F D=Q E=P F=X G=E H=R I=D J=U K=I L=H M=L N=W O=A P=T Q=V R=K S=B T=S U=M V=O W=Z X=G Y=J Z=Y
“We can forgive a man for making a useful thing as long as he does not admire it.”— Oscar Wilde, 1891, The Picture of Dorian GrayCipher key: A=X B=Z C=I D=J E=R F=Y G=T H=C I=V J=O K=M L=A M=F N=L O=E P=Q Q=U R=B S=W T=N U=P V=S W=H X=G Y=D Z=K