How to Solve Cryptogram Word Puzzles Part 1 - What Are Cryptograms?

How to Solve Cryptogram Word Puzzles Part 1 - What Are Cryptograms? I was talking with 2 different acquaintances and telling them I was a writing an article about how to solve cryptograms. Both replied with a question, "what's that?" The response was amazing to me since cryptograms have been appearing in many newspapers for several years, and I thought most people were aware of them. I, personally have been solving them for about 5 years, so why do some people not know they exist?

The word cryptogram has been defined in several ways including: A writing in secret characters A writing in cipher(where a cipher is a letter, not a number) Anything written in characters that are secret, or are so arranged as to have a hidden meaning. The cryptogram word puzzles seen in the puzzle pages of newspapers and magazines are usually quotations either by famous authors, entertainers, philosophers, politicians, and others that are changed by simply changing each letter in the quotation with another. The following example of the start of a cryptogram will give you a better idea of what a cryptogram is: "A B C D - E B F - B G H I I J K - G B A L In this case A = M, B = A, C = R, D = Y, G = L, H = I, I = T, J = L, L = B, and the deciphered sentence reads " MARY HAD A LITTLE LAMB" My definition: A cryptogram word puzzle is an encrypted quotation. The quotation could be a famous public statement, part of an author's work, a proverb, or any other short work. Most I have seen published are 25 or more words in length. Future articles in this series will cover such topics as: Do brain exercises such as solving word puzzles help maintain good brain functioning? Why do people solve cryptograms? Using pattern recognition to solve cryptograms. How the frequency of use of individual letters can be helpful. Recognizing specific letter combinations and patterns and how this helps. The importance of a good grasp of rules of English grammar in solving cryptograms. Use of cryptograms to teach people more about English as a second language. How cryptograms can be used to pass on secret messages. History and origins of cryptograms. Using cryptogram solving to increase one's vocabulary. Why a large vocabulary helps in solving cryptograms The importance of reading books to solving cryptograms. Advanced techniques for solving cryptograms. How to write your own cryptograms by encrypting quotations? Much more How to Solve Cryptogram Word Puzzles Part 1 - What Are Cryptograms?