what is a cryptogram? - david mccall, mentalist entertainer

Y U
W Y V J P S
T Y V
I Y M ' B
HOW TO
SOLVE
CRYPTOGRAMS
E M Y X.
T Y V
C S W Q V P S
Z U
T Y V
I Z I M ' B
T Y V ' I
Z
Z
E M S X
Q M I
B S Q W N Z M R
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Q M I
OGRAM
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E M Y X.
E M Y X ,
B S Q W N Z AM R
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THIS E-B
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D S INSPIR O
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I Y M ' B
J V I S.
I Y
G T P S K U
Z
Q M I
G Q E S
W K S Q J ?"
DAVID JAMES MCCALL
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION:
ONE OF THE MOST USED PIECES OF ADVICE FOR WRITERS IS
THAT THEY SHOULD “WRITE WHAT THEY KNOW.”
I’VE ALWAYS BEEN FASCINATED WITH HOW THE MIND WORKS, AND
HOW WE MIGHT BE ABLE TO “WORK OUT” OUR BRAINS AND HAVE FUN AT
THE SAME TIME. I’VE ALSO BEEN A PUZZLE FAN FOR AS LONG AS I CAN
REMEMBER. MY FAVORITE TYPE OF PUZZLE HAS LONG BEEN THE
CRYPTOGRAM.
SO, I’VE DECIDED TO “WRITE WHAT I KNOW,” AND RELEASE A SET OF
MY OWN CRYPTOGRAM BOOKS.
WHAT IS A CRYPTOGRAM?
A CRYPTOGRAM, FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO DON’T KNOW, IS A CODE
SYSTEM WHERE A LETTER REPRESENTS ANOTHER. THESE CRYPTOGRAMS
ARE SOLVED BY FIGURING OUT CLUES WITH SPACING AND PUNCTUATION.
A LETTER BY ITSELF, FOR EXAMPLE, WILL REPRESENT EITHER AN “A” OR “I
(THERE WILL BE MORE ON THIS LATER).”
WHY WOULD ANYONE DO THIS?
AS A PROFESSIONAL ARTIST, MENTALIST, & MAGICIAN, I FIGURED
THAT IT SEEMED ONLY NATURAL THAT I CREATE A BOOK THAT GIVES
PEOPLE A CHANCE TO USE THEIR MINDS IN A FUN WAY.
WHY IS SHERLOCK HOLMES STILL SO POPULAR? MANY OF THE BOOKS
WERE WRITTEN (ALMOST) 100 YEARS AGO. THE MYSTERY. MANY PEOPLE
LOVE A GOOD MYSTERY. WHAT WILL HAPPEN? PUZZLE FANS WILL KNOW
THAT THERE’S A SIMILAR ELEMENT TO A PUZZLE, JUST DRESSED UP IN A
DIFFERENT WAY. TRYING TO SOLVE SOMETHING, AND OFTEN “THE RIDE”
THAT COMES WITH IT, IS A LOT OF FUN.
ALSO, IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR CRITICAL THINKING SKILLS
AND PROBLEM SOLVING ABILITIES; IF YOU WANT TO IMPROVE YOUR
SPELLING AND VOCABULARY, OR IF YOU TRAVEL A LOT AND JUST WANT
SOMETHING TO DO DURING YOUR “DOWN TIME,” IN MY OPINION, PUZZLE
BOOKS ARE AN EXCELLENT PLACE TO START.
© 2012; DAVID J MCCALL; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IT IS ILLEGAL TO DISTRIBUTE, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE
WORKS FROM THIS E-BOOK IN PART OR IN WHOLE.
2
INTRODUCTION
NOTE
THIS IS MY FIRST ATTEMPT AT A LARGER E-BOOK FOR THE PUBLIC.
THERE ARE PLANS FOR CRYPTOGRAM BOOKS ON DIFFERENT THEMES;
THAT, HOWEVER, LARGELY DEPENDS ON YOU, THE READER. IF YOU
ENJOYED THESE PUZZLES, PLEASE LET ME KNOW.
THIS BOOK IS A CULMINATION OF HUNDREDS (I PREFER TO USE THE
TERM A “BILLIONDY” AMOUNT) OF HOURS WORTH OF RESEARCH, CODE
WRITING, AND PROOFREADING / TESTING.
THAT BEING SAID, I’M HUMAN. EVEN WITH ALL THE ATTEMPTS TO MAKE
THIS BOOK AS ACCURATE AS I CAN, THERE’S STILL A SLIGHT CHANCE A
PUZZLE MAY NOT BE 100% PERFECT. THEREFORE, IF YOU BELIEVE THERE
IS AN ERROR, CONTACT ME: [email protected].
THIS BOOK IS DEDICATED TO THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE
HELPED IN THE PROCESS OF CREATING THIS EDITION,
ESPECIALLY MY MOM, MY FRIENDS CALIX AND SCOTT
DREBUS, JOANN LESLIE AND ANDREW MAKAR.
FINALLY, THANK YOU FOR PURCHASING THIS BOOK,
THEREFORE HELPING ME TO ONE DAY FULLFILL MY LIFELONG
DREAM OF BEING ABLE TO RIDE A PET DINOSAUR TO WORK.
HERE’S A PICTURE OF WHAT IT WOULD LOOK LIKE.
EE
E
WH
!!
!!
EE
© 2012; DAVID J MCCALL; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IT IS ILLEGAL TO DISTRIBUTE, OR CREATE DERIVATIVE
WORKS FROM THIS E-BOOK IN PART OR IN WHOLE.
4
INDEX
HOW TO SOLVE CRYPTOGRAMS:
PAGES
HINTS
PAGES 10 - 11
NOVICE CRYPTOGRAMS
PAGES 12 - 47
INTERMEDIATE CRYPTOGRAMS
6-9
PAGES 48 - 100
EXPERT CRYPTOGRAMS
PAGES 101 - 114
ANSWERS
PAGES 115 - 120
COPYRIGHT & LEGAL...
WHILE YOU MAY PRINT THIS FOR YOUR OWN PERSONAL USE, PLEASE REALIZE THAT
YOU ARE ON THE HONOR SYSTEM, AND I’VE WORKED HARD ON THIS BOOK. PLEASE DO NOT
DISTRIBUTE COPIES.
© 2012; DAVID J MCCALL; ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. IT IS ILLEGAL TO DISTRIBUTE, OR CREATE
DERIVATIVE WORKS FROM THIS E-BOOK IN PART OR IN WHOLE.
5
TIPS & TRICKS
FOR SOLVING CRYPTOGRAMS
THE BASICS
IN A SUBSTITUTION CYPHER/CRYPTOGRAM, ALL THE LETTERS HAVE
BEEN REPLACED BY ANOTHER. IN THESE BOOKS, EACH PAGE HAS A
DIFFERENT CRYPTOGRAM OR CODE. THE SUBSTITUTED LETTER REMAINS
THE SAME THROUGHOUT THE CODE. NO LETTER WILL EVER REPRESENT
ITSELF - ”A“ FOR EXAMPLE, WILL NEVER REALLY BE AN “A.”
TIPS FOR SOLVING:
1) I PUT A LITTLE NUMBER BY EACH WORD IN THE ORDER I TRY TO
SOLVE IT. THAT WAY, IF I MAKE A MISTAKE, I CAN FOLLOW MY
“TRAIL” BACK TO WHERE THE MISTAKE STARTED.
2) I CALL THIS NEXT TIP THE “1, 2, 3 TIP (1, 2, AND 3
BEING THE NUMBER OF LETTERS IN A WORD).” WE START OUT WITH
ONE-LETTER WORDS. ONE-LETTER WORDS ARE ALMOST ALWAYS GOING
TO BE “A” OR “I.”
NEXT, WE MOVE ON TO TWO-LETTER WORDS, IF POSSIBLE.
TWO-LETTER WORDS HAVE ONE CONSONANT AND ONE VOWEL, AND
ARE USUALLY PREPOSITIONS (PREPOSITIONS ARE WORDS THAT
DESCRIBE LOCATION): “AT” “IN” OR “OF” ARE THE MOST COMMON,
FOLLOWED BY TWO-LETTER WORDS, LIKE “BE” “TO,” ETC.
WATCH FOR TWO-LETTER WORDS THAT START WITH “A” OR “I”
THEY ARE THE EASIEST TO DO IN THAT 1,2,3 ORDER.
THREE-LETTER WORDS, UNLESS THEY’RE ABBREVIATIONS, TEND
TO HAVE ONE VOWEL AND TWO CONSONANTS. THE MOST COMMON
THREE-LETTER WORD IS “THE,” THEN “YOU,” “AND” & “ARE.”
A FEW OTHER COMMON THREE-LETTER WORDS: “BUT” “CAN,”
“FOR” AND “WHO / WHY.”
SOME MORE THREE-LETTER WORDS TO LOOK FOR WOULD BE ALL,
FOLLOWED BY “OFF” TOO, AND “SEE.” ALSO LOOK FOR “DID” AND
EYE. THESE ARE ALSO EASIER TO SPOT.
7
© COPYRIGHT 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
SAMPLE CRYPTOGRAM
2
“H U P
Y OU
HUPN
Y OU R
1
8
BQF'I OSCSFO
C A N T D E P EN D
O
4
VWQJVFQIVUF
I M AG I N ATION
O
O
7WQNZ
M ARK
O
UF
ON
3
HUPN
Y OU R
5
VK
IS
UPI
OU T
SHSK
EYE S
6
UA
OF
LGSF
WH E N
A U B P K.”
O CU S
F
ILQVF
T WA I N
O
1) WE’VE GOT A CONTRACTION, BUT RIGHT NOW CAN ONLY GUESS MOST OF THE LETTERS.
SO ANY TIME YOU SEE AN “I”, WRITE DOWN T UNDER IT. ANY TIME YOU SEE AN “F”, WRITE A
LETTER N UNDER IT. “Q” IS PROBABLY “A,” “O” OR “S.”
2) ONCE THAT’S FINISHED, LOOK AT THE FIRST WORD (“H-U-P”). IT’S PROBABLY A COMMON 3
LETTER WORD, LIKE “THE,” “YOU,” OR “AND.” KEEP IN MIND, WE HAVE A CONTRACTION WORD
RIGHT NEXT TO IT. LET’S GO THROUGH THIS... “THE CAN’T...?” “THE DON’T?” NONE OF THOSE
MAKE SENSE WITH “THE.” ALSO, SINCE OUR CONTRACTION WORD ALREADY MOST LIKELY
HAS A “N” IN IT, IT’S NOT LIKELY THAT “H-U-P” REPRESENTS “AND.” SO, LETS TRY “Y-O-U.”
3) REREADING THE CODE, I SEE THAT THE FIFTH & EIGHTH WORD (H-U-P-N) HAS “YOU” IN IT. A
FOUR LETTER WORD, STARTING WITH Y-O-U? IT HAS TO BE “Y-O-U-R.” “N” IS ACTUALLY R.
4) THE CRYPTOGRAM SEEMS TO MAKE SENSE UP TO THIS POINT. SO FAR, SO GOOD. THE
NINTH WORD IS A LONG WORD WITH A “T-?-O-N” ENDING. A COMMON WORD ENDING IS
T-I-O-N, SO LET’S PUT A LETTER I BELOW THE ALL THE “V’S.”
5) THE TENTH WORD (”V-K”), STARTS WITH AN I. IT COULD BE “IF,” “IN,” “IS,” OR “IT.” HOWEVER,
WE’VE FIGURED OUT WHAT N AND T ARE, SO IT’S LIKELY TO BE “IS,” FOLLOWED
BY “IF.” PUT AN S BELOW ANY LETTER “K” YOU SEE. IF YOU’D LIKE, PUT DOWN AN F BELOW
THE S THAT YOU’VE JUST WRITTEN.
6) OUR TWELFTH WORD (U-A) IS O-_. MOST COMMON TWO LETTER O WORDS ARE
“OF,” “ON,” AND “OR.” IT’S NOT “ON” (”F” IS N, REMEMBER?), AND NOT LIKELY TO BE “OR.”
SO WRITE AN F BELOW ALL “A’S.”
7) WE’RE MAKING PROGRESS. IT’S MAKING SOME SENSE. THAT FIRST LETTER IN _AN’T
IS PROBABLY A LETTER C; SAME WITH (”A-U-B-P-K”) FO_US. “YOU CAN’T _ _ _ _ N _ ON YOUR
_Y_S _ _ _ N YOUR I_A_INATION IS OUT OF FOCUS.” BY _ A R _ T_AIN. I THINK YOU CAN
FIGURE OUT THE AUTHOR IS MARK TWAIN. THE SEVENTH WORD THEN IS PROBABLY “WHEN”
AND THE NINTH WORD IS MOST LIKELY “IMAGINATION.”
8) NOW WE HAVE “YOU CAN’T _E_EN_ ON YOUR EYES WHEN YOUR IMAGINATION IS OUT
OF FOCUS.” - MARK TWAIN. I’M GUESSING THAT “_E_EN_” (”O-S-C-S-F-O”) IS
THE WORD “DEPEND.”
AND THERE YOU HAVE IT! A COMPLETED CRYPTOGRAM!
© COPYRIGHT 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
9
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAMS
T Y V
I Y M ' B
C S W Q V P S
Z U
T Y V
I Z I M ' B
Y M K T
Z
E M S X
Q M I
E M Y X ,
T Y V ' I
G S
C S
Q
Z
B N S M
NOVICE
LEVEL
Z M P B S Q I
Y U
CRYPTOGRAMS
T Y V
P B V I S M B
B S Q W N Z M R
Z P
E M Y X.
B S Q W N Z M R
B S Q W N Z M R
U Y J
E M Y X
N Z P
-
G S
Q M I
B Y
C S
B S Q W N S J
L J S P V G L B V Y V P
J V I S.
I Y
G T P S K U
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
Z
Q M I
G Q E S
W K S Q J ?"
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
11
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAM
SOMETIMES, WIN, SOMETIMES, LOSE
“Y N D
TBGYF
CDAFUG
R
YU
EVGXF
UYNDAF
TNU
XU
B
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
FUODYNVGQ
E
T B Z,
EVGX
ADBJJZ
TNVJD
D P R S F D F.”
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
16
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAM
BEFORE YOU CAN SOAR...
“B E E W C P
C
ZYA‘FW
PKBP
PKW
MYOW
PKW
MYOW
IBZM
CUTWYJ
G
IBZM
BJI
ZYA’FW
M P B P A W.”
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
27
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAMS
T Y V
I Y M ' B
C S W Q V P S
Z U
T Y V
I Z I M ' B
E M Y X
Y M K T
Z
E M S X
Q M I
T Y V ' I
E M Y X ,
C S
E M Y X.
Z
B N S M
B S Q W N Z M R
INTERMEDIATE LEVEL
G S
Z M P B S Q I
Y U
G S
CRYPTOGRAMS
B S Q W N Z M R
U Y J
Q
P B V I S M B
B S Q W N Z M R
Z P
T Y V
N Z P
-
Q M I
B Y
C S
B S Q W N S J
L J S P V G L B V Y V P
J V I S.
I Y
G T P S K U
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
Z
Q M I
G Q E S
W K S Q J ?"
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
48
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAM
PEOPLE SUCCEED BECAUSE...
“I
PERRSPPOED
LP
I
VWSIZSW
D
PHZSHBS
MSWPHB
XCHZ
M
ASDLSFSV
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
L B.”
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
50
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAM
HOW YOU THINK VS HOW YOU ACT
“K
IQWLUV
EFYVG
PKJG
LFUBJA‘VA
ZWUUGQA
K
KVA
L E W K Y D F E.”
R
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
51
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAMS
T Y V
I Y M ' B
C S W Q V P S
Z U
T Y V
I Z I M ' B
T Y V ' I
G S
Y M K T
Z
E M S X
Q M I
C S
B S Q W N Z M R
ANSWERS
Y U
T Y V
P B V I S M B
B S Q W N Z M R
Z P
Z
B N S M
Z M P B S Q I
Q
E M Y X.
E M Y X ,
B S Q W N Z M R
U Y J
E M Y X
N Z P
G S
-
Q M I
B Y
C S
B S Q W N S J
L J S P V G L B V Y V P
J V I S.
I Y
G T P S K U
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
Z
Q M I
G Q E S
W K S Q J ?"
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
115
ANONYMOUS CRYPTOGRAM
NOVICE CRYPTOGRAMS
16. THE PERSON WHO REALLY WANTS TO DO SOMETHING FINDS A WAY, WHILE
OTHERS FIND EXCUSES.
27. ACCEPT THAT SOME DAYS YOU’RE THE PIGEON AND SOME DAYS YOU’RE THE
STATUE.
INTERMEDIATE CRYPTOGRAMS
50. A SUCCESSFUL PERSON IS A DREAMER WHOM SOMEONE BELIEVED IN.
51. A PERSON SHOULDN’T THINK CROOKED AND WALK STRAIGHT.
© 2012 BY DAVID J. MCCALL
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
116
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
DAVID PERFORMING MIND READING
WHILE BLINDFOLDED.
DAVID MCCALL HAS ALWAYS BEEN INTERESTED IN STUDYING HOW
THE MIND WORKS, AND USING GAMES & PUZZLES FOR MENTAL
FITNESS. WHILE HE’S CREATED HUNDREDS OF PUZZLES (SOME OF
WHICH YOU MAY SEE IN THE FUTURE), THIS IS HIS FIRST
“OFFICIAL” E-BOOK.
WHEN NOT DEVELOPING, CREATING AND WRITING VARIOUS
BRAIN TEASERS, DAVID WORKS AS A MENTALIST, MAGICIAN,
AND ARTIST IN THE DETROIT AREA.
YOU CAN CHECK OUT SOME OF HIS WORK AT
WWW.DAVID-MCCALL.COM
WWW.GRAFIXMAGIC.COM
© Copyright 2012 by David McCall. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.