Cryptogram Puzzle 961
Answers

Decoded in full, attributed to Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend.

Letter frequency for cryptogram 961: O 11, N 8, I 7, A 5, E 5, G 5, L 5, Y 5, M 4, D 3, U 3, K 211O8N7I5A5E5G5L5Y4M3D3U2K
The decoded quote:
“I’m gonna love you like I’m gonna lose you, and I’m gonna hold you like I’m saying goodbye.”
— Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend

Cryptogram Puzzle 961 decodes to a quotation of 18 words attributed to Meghan Trainor ft. John Legend. It runs to 99 characters and uses 16 distinct letters.

The chart above shows the real letter frequencies of this quote — O×11, N×8, I×7, A×5, E×5. 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 8 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.

Puzzle 961 at a glance
AuthorMeghan Trainor ft. John Legend
Characters99
Words18
Distinct letters16
Most frequentO×11 N×8 I×7
Questions

Cryptogram Puzzle 961 FAQ

1What is the answer to Cryptogram Puzzle 961?+
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 960 and puzzle 962, or browse the whole 901–1,000 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, N×8, I×7. In English E leads by a wide margin, so test that substitution first.

2

It has 8 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 961 In Detail

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

AuthorMeghan Trainor ft. John Legend
Characters99
Words18
Distinct letters16
Short words8
Puzzle961