Cryptogram Puzzle 1,342
Answers
Decoded in full, attributed to Charles Bukowski.
“Even though I write about the human race, the further away from them, the better I feel. Two miles is great; two thousand miles is beautiful.”
— Charles Bukowski
Cryptogram Puzzle 1,342 decodes to a quotation of 26 words attributed to Charles Bukowski. It runs to 141 characters and uses 20 distinct letters.
The chart above shows the real letter frequencies of this quote — E×17, T×15, H×9, A×8, I×8. That is the pattern that cracks it: in ordinary English E is the commonest letter by a wide margin, so whichever cipher symbol appears most in the puzzle is the first substitution worth testing. We publish the decoded quote and its author; the game generates its own substitution alphabet per player, so no fixed cipher is shown here.
This quote contains 9 short words of three letters or fewer, which are the other obvious way in — one-letter words are always A or I, and the commonest three-letter word by a wide margin is THE. Fixing one of those typically reveals enough of the text to read the rest.
Cryptogram Puzzle 1,342 FAQ
1What is the answer to Cryptogram Puzzle 1,342?+
2How many answers does this level have?+
3Where do I go next?+
4Are these answers verified?+
How Cryptogram Works
The same three moves solve most Cryptogram puzzles, including this one.
Count the letters
The most frequent symbol is usually E, then T, A, O and N. Frequency beats guessing every time.
Attack the short words
One-letter words are A or I. Common three-letter words are THE and AND, and they unlock the most letters at once.
Use the apostrophes
A letter after an apostrophe is almost always S, T, D, M, LL, RE or VE — a very short list to test.
Cryptogram Tips & Strategy
Starting with what this particular puzzle teaches you.
Most frequent letter here
In this quote the commonest letters are E×17, T×15, H×9. In English E leads by a wide margin, so test that substitution first.
It has 9 short words
Short words are the fastest way in — one-letter words are always A or I, and the commonest three-letter word is THE.
Frequency first
Count which cipher letter appears most. In English text it is E far more often than not, and fixing E alone usually reveals two or three short words.
One-letter words are A or I
There are no others in ordinary English. Two free letters from a single glance at the text.
THE is the giveaway
The commonest three-letter word by a wide margin. Finding one THE gives you T, H and E in a single move.
Apostrophes narrow sharply
A letter directly after an apostrophe is nearly always S, T, D or M, or the pairs LL, RE and VE. Very few options to test.
Cryptogram Puzzle 1,342 In Detail
Everything recorded for this puzzle, counted from its source record.
| Author | Charles Bukowski |
|---|---|
| Characters | 141 |
| Words | 26 |
| Distinct letters | 20 |
| Short words | 9 |
| Puzzle | 1,342 |
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