Denise Sutherland

Cheat Sheet / Updated 09-27-2021

Cryptography offers you the chance to solve all kinds of puzzles. Use basic solving techniques to crack substitution ciphers, including the Freemason’s cipher. Encode your own messages, decode incoming communications, and have fun trying to figure out conspiracies, codes, and cryptograms!

Article / Updated 09-27-2021

These five cryptograms are all letter substitution ciphers, at an Easy level. Each letter of the alphabet is substituted by another letter, and no letter is encrypted as itself. To start out on these puzzles, look for the most frequent letter in each cryptogram — you’ll find it’s almost always E. Single-letter words will be A or I. The words THE, AND, and THAT are the most commonly seen short words in English. Double letters and apostrophes are also helpful when cracking ciphers. Easy Letter Cipher 1. Crack this cipher to reveal an interesting observation by J. Edgar Hoover, the first Director of the FBI. XURXE-XSIINBZ, N EOCS PKRBQ, NF XES ASG XK USFDKBFNMIS JNXNYSBFEND. XES XEKRFOBQF KP JUNHNBOIF N EOCS FSSB NB PKUXG GSOUF KP IOT SBPKUJSHSBX EOCS EOQ KBS XENBZ NB JKHHKB: SCSUG FNBZIS KBS TOF O INOU. Easy Letter Cipher 1 Answer Easy Letter Cipher 2.This cryptogram contains an old definition of Freemasonry: HX YPW FNNR WPHE, TAM CNUU ALNM P VNRXGMZ, XYPX TMNNBPWARMZ HW P WZWXNB AT BAMPUHXZ, LNHUNE HR PUUNJAMZ PRE HUUGWXMPXNE FZ WZBFAUW. Easy Letter Cipher 2 Answer Easy Letter Cipher 3. Look for repeating letter patterns to crack this cipher. EOI ETQDGPI ZHEO ORKHLV RL QBIL CHLN, QM JQDTYI, HY EORE BIQBPI ZHPP HLYHYE QL JQCHLV RPQLV RLN ETFHLV EQ BDE EOHLVY HL HE. EITTF BTREJOIEE Easy Letter Cipher 3 Answer Easy Letter Cipher 4. Discover what one American president thought about secret societies. SDD AGRNGI, ZSIF-MZWCX, QZDKIKRSD QSNIKGA SNG XSCYGNZWA IZ SCL CSIKZC, CZ HSIIGN FZE QWNG ZN FZE QSINKZIKR IFG HZIKOGA SCX QNKCRKQDGA EFKRF JKNAI MNKCY IFGH IZYGIFGN. QNGAKXGCI WDLAAGA A YNSCI Easy Letter Cipher 4 Answer Easy Letter Cipher 5. This was said by Dr. George Oliver (1782-1867), prominent English Freemason. AV AL T QWVS AJRWGKOJV XJ OHOZS GTLXJ VX LWIIXZV T KZXVPOZ'L RPTZTRVOZ AJ PAL TKLOJRO OYWTNNS TL VPXWDP PO EOZO IZOLOJV; JXV VX ZOHANO PAG KOPAJQ PAL KTRU JXZ LWMMOZ AV VX KO QXJO KS XVPOZL, EAVPXWV WLAJD OHOZS JOROLLTZS TVVOGIV VX IZOHOJV AV. Easy Letter Cipher 5 Answer Easy Letter Cipher 1 Answer U = R Easy Letter Cipher 2 Answer Z = Y Easy Letter Cipher 3 Answer P = L Easy Letter Cipher 4 Answer R = C Easy Letter Cipher 5 Answer Q = D

Cheat Sheet / Updated 08-30-2021

People love to do puzzles of all kinds, but cryptic crosswords are often seen as a challenging form of entertainment — delight may be rare to anyone new to cryptics! This cheat sheet covers the basics of how to start on a cryptic crossword grid, and you’ll also find some handy reference lists and explanations to spotting certain clue devices.

Article / Updated 04-26-2016

Indicator words are vital words that are found in many (but not all) cryptic clues for crosswords. These are words that indicate the type of wordplay being used, so they’re giving you a sort of coded message about what to do to get to the answer. The main clue devices that should always use indicator words are anagrams, containers, hidden words, reversals, deletions and homophones. Double definition and charade clues don’t have to have indicator words, but they are occasionally used. Cryptic definition clues don’t use indicator words, although they are often indicated with a question mark or exclamation mark. (This is one of the few times where you do need to pay attention to the punctuation!). Here is a list of the sorts of words you’ll find for these indicator words below. If you can learn to spot indicator words by context, you’ll have more cryptic solving success. Anagram indicators: These are words that give a sense of some word or words in the clue being jumbled up. These words can give a sense of things being broken, damaged, cooked, confused, upset, edited, ugly, insane, invented, engineered, out of sorts, designed, mishandled, drunk, built, versatile, rearranged, smashed, askew and so on (ad infinitum?!). Container indicators: These are words that give a sense of one thing being put around another thing, or one thing being put inside another thing. So words such as acquiring, keeping, possessing, devouring, hugging, amidst, occupying, getting into and set in can be used. Hidden word indicators: Hidden word indicators give a sense of something being found inside something else. Container indicators are often used, too. They may be words like a bit of, buried in, essentially, fragment, held in, part of or sample of. Reversal indicators: These indicators tell you to run some letters or a word backwards. They are words that give a sense of reversal (not surprisingly!) such as around, backslide, brought about, come back, flipped over, going west, knocked over or reflected. In down clues, a reversal indicator can give a sense of rising upwards, for example held up, lifted or skyward. Deletion indicators: These are words that tell you to delete some letters from a word. They give a sense of removal such as absent, excluding, losing, not, dropped, cut, without or short. Letter positions can also be indicated with deletion clues such as first, head, opener, tail, end, conclusion, half, middle, centre and so on. Homophone indicators: These words give a sense of something being listened to or said aloud. They can include words such as on the air, broadcast, I hear, said, declared, audibly, outspoken, reportedly, sounds like and vocal. Double definition and charade indicators: These clue devices don’t have to have indicator words, but if they are used, they generally just give a sense of one thing following another, being added to another, or of one thing leading from another. Words such as and, but, in which, makes, provides, next to, joining, on and with may be used.

Article / Updated 04-26-2016

While they do look completely incomprehensible at first glance, cryptic clues are actually written along strict guidelines. The majority of clues in a cryptic crossword adhere to these standards: Every cryptic clue includes a straight definition of the answer, just like in a ‘regular’ crossword. Astonishing, but true! The definition part of the clue will always be at the start or end of the clue, and never sandwiched in the middle. Most cryptic clues run along the lines of this formula: Definition + Wordplay = Answer, or Wordplay + Definition = Answer. The definition may be a straight synonym, or a more oblique reference to the answer. There are nine main wordplay devices used in cryptics: anagrams, reversals, deletions, charades, containers, hidden words, double definitions, homophones, and cryptic definitions. Abbreviations are used a great deal in cryptic clues, so it’s important to get a handle on these. The best way to tackle a cryptic clue is to try to ignore the first impression you get from reading the clue, and look at each word in the clue one by one to see if you can discover the definition and wordplay. There’s no need to solve the clues in a crossword in order, just look through the list until you see one that you think you might be able to get out. In general, you can ignore the punctuation in a clue — it’s mostly just there to mislead you! It’s perfectly okay to use a thesaurus to look for synonyms for the words at the start and end of the clue to see if they reveal the answer (from the definition). You can always work out the wordplay part after the fact, and try to figure out what the setter has done to make the clue work. It’s all part of the learning process! Different setters write clues slightly differently, so it’s best to get used to one setter’s style at first, rather than solving cryptics from all over the place.

Article / Updated 04-26-2016

Here are some basic abbreviations that are very useful to have by your side when cracking cryptic clues! The list is concise and only focuses on the harder abbreviations. Straightforward abbreviations and simple foreign words have been omitted from this list. 10 = X 100 = C 1,000 = M 5 = V 50 = L a follower = B about = C, CE, RE against = V (versus) alien = ET American soldier = GI ancient city = UR ancient times = BC Anglo-Saxon = AS Arabic = AR artist = RA (Royal Academy) Asian = E (Eastern) at home = IN bishop = B (chess) Bond’s boss = M book = B bridge player = N, S, E, W British = B, BR Capone = AL carbon copy = CC castle = R (rook) chapter = C or CH chief = CH Church of England = CE civil engineer = CE cross = X club/s = C (cards) Common Era = CE Cyprus = CY daughter = D degree = D, BA, MA diamond/s = D (cards) Diana = DI direction = N, S, E,W doctor = DR, MB, MD, MO dram = DR duck = O (cricketing) Elizabeth = E English = E exercise = PT or PE exist = BE fine = F (pencil), OK first = IST (1st) first class = AI (A1) fish = LING, EEL, COD etc. force = F former partner = EX France = F gas = H (hydrogen), CO (carbon monoxide), etc. George = G Georgia = GA (state), GE (country) German = G gold = AU or OR (heraldry) good = G good man = ST (saint) graduate = BA, MB Greek character or letter = PI, NU, MU, XI, etc. Guevara = CHE hard = H (pencil) heart/s = H (cards) hexadecimal = HEX honour = OBE hour = HR hug = O husband = H hush = SH I am = IM (I’m) in charge = IC instant message = IM integrated circuit = IC judge = J king = K or ER kiss = X last character = Z lawyer = BL (Bachelor of Law) letter = EF, EM, EL Liberal = L line = L (l looks like a line) loud = F (forte) midday = N (noon) model = T (Model T Ford) moment = MO monsieur = M months = MOS new = N newton = N (unit) no good = NG noon = N note = A – G, DO, RE, MI, FA, SO, LA, TI, TE, DOH, etc. nothing = O ocean = O old = O old boy = OB old city = UR old record = EP one = A, AN, I (1) operation = OP oriental = E (from the East) penny = P playing = ON (stage) point = N, S, E or W power = P present day = AD princess = DI printer’s measure = EN, EM private investigator = PI physical education = PE Public Record Office = PRO quarter = N, NE, NW, E etc queen = R, Q, or ER queen’s honour = OBE quiet = P (piano) ring = O resistance = R (unit) river = R, EXE, DEE, PO, etc. roughly = CA (circa) round = O sailor, salt = AB (able- bodied seaman) second = S second-class = B Shakespearean king = LEAR ship/s = SS short time = T single = I (1) society = S soft = P (music), B (pencil) son = S spade/s = S (cards) square = S teetotal/le = TT temperature = T thanks = TA the thing = IT times = X top class = AI (A1) translator = TR unknown = X or Y versus = V, VS very black = BB (pencil) vitamin = A, B, BI (B1), C, etc. vote = X wife = W will = LL (contraction) women’s supporter = BRA worker = ANT, BEE year = Y yours truly = I, ME

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Freemasons have used ciphers since at least the 18th century. The Freemason’s Cipher is sometimes called the Pigpen Cipher, because the alphabet is written into a grid of lines, which may look like pigpens, and a cross shape from two diagonal lines. A letter is enciphered by drawing the shape of the cell that encompasses it. Freemasons learned one of the many versions of this cipher as part of the Royal Arch initiation. Here are the main reasons Freemasons use ciphers: To keep their ritual ceremonies secure so they aren’t easily discovered by the unitiated To keep messages about Masonic business (like “lodge officers meet one half-hour before the meeting of the full lodge”) just among Masons To have fun, plain and simple The Grand Lodge style of Freemasonry began in 1717 in London, England, and spread to France in fewer than ten years. In France, Freemasons experimented with the development of so-called high degrees, ritual initiation ceremonies that somehow went beyond the first three degrees of Freemasonry. These high degree ceremonies were plays that enhanced a Mason’s experience and interaction with the legends, for example, of the Temple built by King Solomon. Some believe that the French invented a degree called the Royal Arch, as a kind of completion (keystone) of the third or Master Mason degree. However the Royal Arch was developed — and early Masonic records are notoriously incomplete — history suggests that the Royal Arch degree was being conferred in London in the 1740s. When it comes down to it, the Freemason’s Cipher (in any version) is a straight substitution cipher, so you can solve it by substituting a letter for each symbol.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

It doesn’t matter whether a cryptogram presents you with letters, numbers, arcane symbols, lines and dots, or weird alien squiggles — if you’re asked to replace each letter in the alphabet with another symbol, you’re dealing with a simple substitution cipher. All substitution ciphers can be cracked by using the following tips: Scan through the cipher, looking for single-letter words. They’re almost definitely A or I. Count how many times each symbol appears in the puzzle. The most frequent symbol is probably E. It could also be T, A, or O, especially if the cryptogram is fairly short. Pencil in your guesses over the ciphertext. Do typical word fragments start to reveal themselves? Be prepared to erase and change your guesses! Look for apostrophes. They’re generally followed by S, T, D, M, LL, or RE. Look for repeating letter patterns. They may be common letter groups, such as TH, SH, RE, CH, TR, ING, ION, and ENT. Try to decipher two-, three-, and four-letter words. Two-letter words almost always have one vowel and one consonant. The five most common two-letter words, in order of frequency, are OF, TO, IN, IS, and IT. The most common three-letter words, in order of frequency, are THE, AND, FOR, WAS, and HIS. The most common four-letter word is THAT. An encrypted word with the pattern 1 - - 1 is likely to be THAT. However, the pattern 1 - - 1 also represents 30 other words, so keep this in mind! Scan for double letters. They’re most likely to be LL, followed in frequency by EE, SS, OO, and TT (and on to less commonly seen doubles).

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Cracking Codes & Cryptograms For Dummies has something extra — a secret word within the book for you to discover! This secret word isn’t listed in the Hints or Answers, and it isn’t mentioned anywhere within the book. The only way you can discover it is by solving the puzzles. Here are a few pointers to get you started on the trail: The secret word occurs as a keyword within one of the substitution cryptograms. The cryptogram in question doesn’t have any introductory text saying that the puzzle has a keyword. Decrypt the cryptograms in the usual way. To reveal any possible keywords, write out the plaintext and cipher alphabet in two rows (a to z on the top line, and the encrypted cipher letters on the second line, beneath the alphabet). If the puzzle has a keyword, you’ll see a sequence of letters that spells out a word within the cipher alphabet. The secret word has more than three letters. Not all keywords are placed at the start of the alphabet.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Printing out this page will make it easier to solve these cryptograms. Drawing a light vertical pencil line between the words in a symbol cipher makes it easier for you to see the words and letter patterns. Medium Symbol Cipher 1. Adapted from a story told about the last days of traitor Benedict Arnold (who died in 1801): Medium Symbol Cipher 1 Hint Medium Symbol Cipher 1 Answer Medium Symbol Cipher 2. Be careful to look at the details of each symbol in this cryptogram, so you don’t confuse one letter with another. Medium Symbol Cipher 2 Hint Medium Symbol Cipher 2 Answer Medium Symbol Cipher 3. There is a common pattern word in this cipher, spotting it will help to decipher the puzzle! Medium Symbol Cipher 3 Hint Medium Symbol Cipher 3 Answer Medium Symbol Cipher 1 Hint The first word ends with R. Medium Symbol Cipher Hint The last letter is L. Medium Symbol Cipher 3 Hint The last word starts with W.