Cryptogram Puzzle 1,488
Answers
Decoded in full, attributed to Chiara Ferragni.
“I bought a Cartier nail bracelet to celebrate the fifth anniversary of my blog. It’s an investment piece, but it’s simple enough to wear every day, and it’s something that will last forever.”
— Chiara Ferragni
Cryptogram Puzzle 1,488 decodes to a quotation of 33 words attributed to Chiara Ferragni. It runs to 196 characters and uses 21 distinct letters.
The chart above shows the real letter frequencies of this quote — E×20, T×18, A×13, I×13, R×10. 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 14 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 1,488 FAQ
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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×20, T×18, A×13. In English E leads by a wide margin, so test that substitution first.
It has 14 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 1,488 In Detail
Everything recorded for this puzzle, counted from its source record.
| Author | Chiara Ferragni |
|---|---|
| Characters | 196 |
| Words | 33 |
| Distinct letters | 21 |
| Short words | 14 |
| Puzzle | 1,488 |
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