Today's Cryptogram

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

"OMEA" CZ FOA FOCGD YCFO JATFOAXZ -
FOTF EAXROAZ CG FOA ZMVI -
TGH ZCGDZ FOA FVGA YCFOMVF FOA YMXHZ -
TGH GALAX ZFMEZ - TF TII -

TGH ZYAAFAZF - CG FOA DTIA - CZ OATXH -
TGH ZMXA SVZF NA FOA ZFMXS -
FOTF RMVIH TNTZO FOA ICFFIA NCXH
FOTF QAEF ZM STGK YTXS -

C’LA OATXH CF CG FOA ROCIIAZF ITGH -
TGH MG FOA ZFXTGDAZF ZAT -
KAF - GALAX - CG APFXASCFK
CF TZQAH T RXVSN - MJ SA.

ASCIK HCRQAGZMG

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

You can find this fun quotation puzzle, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. I challenge us with the best ones out there.

The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram).

Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is your first time, don't be intimidated, you’ll be solving them all within a few days. If you’re stumped, take a break and return to it.

PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general comments, but DO post your time and how you made out.

You can certainly send your solution to my private reply, or if you need a hint for today’s Cryptogram ASK THE GROUP FOR HELP!

I suggest printing these out and work them on paper. If you need a little help you can copy and paste it to Hal’s Helper below.

You can then work on the puzzle without using pen and paper, but I recommend that you do NOT look at the letter counter.

HAL'S CRYPTOGRAM HELPER

One last request. Feel free to post a fun or clever clue, the more tangential to the quotation the better, but please don’t put the actual words of the quote in the clue.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

One last request. Feel free to post a fun or clever clue, the more tangential to the quotation the better, but please don’t put the actual words of the quote in the clue.## ping list message

If you need a clue ask the group to send you a letter to your private reply.

4 minutes good
3 minutes excellent
2 minutes exceptional
90 seconds superior

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Previous puzzle, Saturday, March 23, 2024

GUUBJOF FGBL UA MKN AEK LGC, “B’L ZGUWKZ CAO FWAU GU UBE JGEF BE UWK RGJQ CGZL, ROU B QEAS CAO’YY DA GVUKZ RBZLF. FWAAU GYY UWK RYOKMGCF CAO SGEU, BV CAO JGE WBU ‘KN, ROU ZKNKNRKZ BU’F G FBE UA QBYY G NAJQBEDRBZL.” - UA QBYY G NAJQBEDRBZL

Solution to previous Puzzle: (select the yellow text with your cursor to read):

Atticus said to Jem one day, “I’d rather you shot at tin cans in the back yard, but I know you’ll go after birds. Shoot all the bluejays you want, if you can hit ‘em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.” - To Kill A Mockingbird

HAL'S CRYPTOGRAM HELPER

[Texas Fossil]

Is it a mono alphabetic substitution code?

[ComputerGuy]

Chirp. Again.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I think that should be obvious from the instructions. And HAL’s cryptogram helper only works with monoalphabetic substitutions ciphers, with the restriction that no letter can substitute for itself. I have an octave/matlab script that converts plaintext to MASC, with that precise restriction, if you think you would like it.

These cryptograms are meant for amusement, and provide a convenient gathering place. They are not intended as any deep intellectual challenge.

[Buttons12]

HCRQAGZMG
Oops! Shouldn’t that be HCRQCGZMG?

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

I think you’re write (sic). I got suckered by autocorrect.

[Baldwin77]

[SaveFerris]

Got it

[Apparatchik]

[Texas Fossil]

When my daughter was in high school, she and I would solve crypto quotes for extra credit.

Frequency analysis.

But it has been a long long time since I did that.

Thanks.

[lefty-lie-spy]

Ugh. So sappy and forced “poetry”. Give me Jaberwocky over this muck any day. (Just my opinion).

[BlueLancer]

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Frequency analysis (HAL helps) is a good starting point but patterns like THAT, PEOPLE, ALWAYS, etc. are useful. Taking a shot at the author, e.g., KPIX EFPSU (MARK TWAIN). Don’t forget the Concordian twins LMFSA VMFKW IGILOWT (’RALPH WALDO EMERSON’) and TWUCG ZQSYZ JTMCWQH (’HENRY DAVID THOREAU’). Both with the pattern 5-5-7, but different locations of repeated letters.

Enjoy!

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

The author was unpublished and unknown in her lifetime, which adds quite a bit of poignancy to her work. I rather like her poetry, myself. Besides, if I posted Jabberwocky, the cryptogram crew would have my guts for garters.

[lefty-lie-spy]

Yeah, my comment about Jabkerwocky was a little tongue in cheek as far as cryptograms go. It would certainly be a laugh and a brain basher to hack at it. Thanks for posting these daily cryptograms.

[scrabblehack]

and I thought it was inside Pandora’s Box.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Margret Mitchell and Mark Twain took great pride in accurately representing the dialect of their characters, their writing was not a sloppy parody of "colored folks" talk. They intended to do justice to their characters, and their unique language. Of Harper Lee, I do not know, but the conversation between Scout and Cal (Calpurnia, her nanny) about the appropriate use of "white-folks talk" and "[negro] talk" is enlightening and delightful. And would never make it into a Hollywood movie.

I have been toying with the idea of posting some dialect for while, but cannot find suitable material that conveys a message. And there is that guts for garters thingy.

[gitmo]

I think I confused it with AFIB.