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 reason which governs knows what its own disposition is, and what it does, and on what material it works.”— Marcus Aurelius, 1862, Meditations (George Long translation, 1862)Cipher key: A=L B=Z C=W D=Q E=V F=Y G=K H=A I=T J=G K=N L=S M=F N=H O=I P=X Q=P R=B S=R T=C U=J V=M W=U X=D Y=O Z=E
“The joy and moral stimulation of work no longer must be forgotten in the mad chase of evanescent profits.”— Franklin D. Roosevelt, 1933, First Inaugural AddressCipher key: A=T B=C C=N D=V E=X F=M G=Y H=Q I=O J=G K=P L=U M=D N=L O=I P=Z Q=A R=K S=W T=B U=S V=F W=H X=R Y=J Z=E
“Man thus not only works for the animal within him, but, for a symbol of this, he works for the animal without him.”— Henry David Thoreau, 1854, WaldenCipher key: A=K B=D C=E D=A E=T F=B G=C H=O I=H J=Y K=J L=U M=L N=R O=P P=X Q=Z R=N S=Q T=W U=F V=S W=V X=M Y=G Z=I
“The true prosperity and greatness of a nation is to be found in the elevation and education of its laborers.”— Ulysses S. Grant, 1871, Third Annual Message to CongressCipher key: A=V B=P C=E D=W E=J F=Q G=C H=U I=R J=S K=H L=Y M=N N=K O=D P=O Q=A R=X S=F T=M U=L V=T W=B X=I Y=Z Z=G
“No other terms than unconditional and immediate surrender. I propose to move immediately upon your works.”— Ulysses S. Grant, 1862, To Gen. S. B. Buckner, Fort Donelson, Feb. 16, 1862 (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=S B=Y C=Q D=W E=D F=O G=I H=K I=J J=U K=C L=A M=V N=E O=B P=M Q=H R=L S=R T=X U=T V=Z W=F X=P Y=G Z=N
“Let us, then, be up and doing, With a heart for any fate; Still achieving, still pursuing, Learn to labour and to wait.”— Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, 1841, Ballads and Other Poems, A Psalm of Life (in Bartlett's Familiar Quotations, 9th ed., 1891)Cipher key: A=W B=G C=Q D=J E=O F=A G=D H=E I=Z J=C K=N L=P M=H N=V O=T P=S Q=U R=M S=L T=I U=B V=K W=F X=R Y=X Z=Y