Cryptogram Puzzle
Crack a phrase hidden by a letter-for-letter substitution cipher. Letter counts, a frequency crib, and hints when you are stuck. No letter stands for itself.
Every letter has been swapped for another one, the same way throughout. Click a letter and type what you think it stands for — it fills in everywhere at once.
Letter counts in this puzzle
English letters in rough order of how often they appear: E T A O I N S H R D L C U M W F G Y P B V K J X Q Z. The commonest symbol in a puzzle this short is often E, but not reliably — treat it as a starting guess rather than an answer.
How to crack one
- Start with the one and two-letter words. A single letter is A or I. A two-letter word is a short list: OF, TO, IN, IT, IS, BE, AS, AT, SO, WE, HE, BY, OR, ON, DO, IF, ME, MY, UP, AN, GO, NO, US.
- Look for a doubled letter. LL, EE, SS, OO and TT are far commoner than the rest, and a doubled letter at the end of a short word is very often LL or SS.
- An apostrophe is a gift — the letter after it is nearly always S or T. These puzzles have none, so use word endings instead: a three-letter word ending in the commonest letter is usually THE.
- No letter ever stands for itself. That is guaranteed here, so if a guess would make a letter mean itself, it is wrong.
- Conflicts show in red: two different symbols cannot both mean E.
How to use
- Click any letter in the puzzle to select it.
- Type the letter you think it stands for — it fills in everywhere at once.
- Use the letter counts and the English frequency order to find a way in.
Frequently asked questions
Where do I start?
The short words. A one-letter word is A or I. Two-letter words come from a short list — OF, TO, IN, IT, IS, BE, AS, AT, SO, WE, HE, BY, OR, ON, DO, IF, ME, MY, UP, AN, GO, NO, US. A three-letter word ending in the puzzle’s commonest symbol is usually THE.
Can a letter stand for itself?
Never, and that is guaranteed rather than left to chance. The cipher is built as a derangement, so if a guess would make a symbol mean its own letter, you can rule it out immediately.
Is the commonest symbol always E?
No, and that is worth knowing before you commit to it. E is the commonest letter in English overall, but a phrase this short is far too small a sample to rely on. Treat the frequency list as a starting guess, not an answer.
Why proverbs rather than famous quotations?
Because a quotation needs an attribution, attributions are easy to get wrong, and a puzzle game is a poor place to assert who said what. Proverbs belong to nobody, so there is nothing to misattribute.
What counts as solved?
Filling in every letter correctly yourself. Using Show the answer deliberately does not add to your solved tally — it would make the number meaningless.
What does the red mean?
A conflict: you have two different symbols both standing for the same letter. In a substitution cipher that is impossible, so at least one of them is wrong.
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