Cryptogram Puzzle 310
Answers

Decoded in full, attributed to Elbert Hubbard.

Letter frequency for cryptogram 310: O 11, A 8, F 8, I 8, T 8, E 6, H 6, D 5, M 5, N 5, R 5, S 511O8A8F8I8T6E6H5D5M5N5R5S
The decoded quote:
“Forbid a man to think for himself or to act for himself and you may add the joy of piracy and the zest of smuggling to his life.”
— Elbert Hubbard

Cryptogram Puzzle 310 decodes to a quotation of 28 words attributed to Elbert Hubbard. It runs to 128 characters and uses 22 distinct letters.

The chart above shows the real letter frequencies of this quote — O×11, A×8, F×8, I×8, T×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 20 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.

This puzzle sits in the 301–400 block, with puzzle 309 and puzzle 311 linked at the foot of the page, so you can keep moving without returning to the index.

Puzzle 310 at a glance
AuthorElbert Hubbard
Characters128
Words28
Distinct letters22
Most frequentO×11 A×8 F×8
Questions

Cryptogram Puzzle 310 FAQ

1What is the answer to Cryptogram Puzzle 310?+
The decoded quotation is shown in full above, together with the author it is attributed to.
2How many answers does this level have?+
0, all listed on this page.
3Where do I go next?+
Use the links at the foot of the page for puzzle 309 and puzzle 311, or browse the whole 301–400 block.
4Are these answers verified?+
Yes. This puzzle was imported from a structured source record and validated on build. See the method page for exactly what is checked.
How to play

How Cryptogram Works

The same three moves solve most Cryptogram puzzles, including this one.

1

Count the letters

The most frequent symbol is usually E, then T, A, O and N. Frequency beats guessing every time.

2

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.

3

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.

Play smarter

Cryptogram Tips & Strategy

Starting with what this particular puzzle teaches you.

1

Most frequent letter here

In this quote the commonest letters are O×11, A×8, F×8. In English E leads by a wide margin, so test that substitution first.

2

It has 20 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.

3

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.

4

One-letter words are A or I

There are no others in ordinary English. Two free letters from a single glance at the text.

5

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.

6

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.

By the numbers

Cryptogram Puzzle 310 In Detail

Everything recorded for this puzzle, counted from its source record.

AuthorElbert Hubbard
Characters128
Words28
Distinct letters22
Short words20
Puzzle310