Cryptogram Puzzle 59
Answers

Decoded in full, attributed to Nelson Mandela.

Letter frequency for cryptogram 59: O 20, L 18, E 16, S 15, A 14, N 12, T 12, I 11, R 11, U 7, P 6, D 520O18L16E15S14A12N12T11I11R7U6P5D
The decoded quote:
“As long as many of our people still live in utter poverty, as long as children still live under plastic covers, as long as many of our people are still without jobs, no South African should rest and wallow in the joy of freedom.”
— Nelson Mandela

Cryptogram Puzzle 59 decodes to a quotation of 44 words attributed to Nelson Mandela. It runs to 228 characters and uses 22 distinct letters.

The chart above shows the real letter frequencies of this quote — O×20, L×18, E×16, S×15, A×14. 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 18 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 1–100 block, with puzzle 58 and puzzle 60 linked at the foot of the page, so you can keep moving without returning to the index.

Puzzle 59 at a glance
AuthorNelson Mandela
Characters228
Words44
Distinct letters22
Most frequentO×20 L×18 E×16
Questions

Cryptogram Puzzle 59 FAQ

1What is the answer to Cryptogram Puzzle 59?+
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 58 and puzzle 60, or browse the whole 1–100 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×20, L×18, E×16. In English E leads by a wide margin, so test that substitution first.

2

It has 18 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 59 In Detail

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

AuthorNelson Mandela
Characters228
Words44
Distinct letters22
Short words18
Puzzle59