TODAY’S CRYPTOGRAM

[nikos1121]

S IU I JIEBTQNM, I OSOQNM,

I FSGN IXJ I UAQTNM. S IU I

GMSNXJ AG FAUNX IXJ S IU

QTNSM IJCAHIQN. —HIMMN AQSO

[nikos1121]

You can find this fun quotation puzzle, to combat early dementia and senility in us baby boomers, in several daily publications. I challenge us with the best ones out there.

The way it works is a letter stands for another letter. For example: AXYDLBAAXR is LONGFELLOW (does not apply to today's cryptogram).

Beware, the game is very addictive. If this is your first time, don't be intimidated, you’ll be solving them all within a few days.  If you’re stumped, take a break and return to it.

PLEASE DO NOT post the answer in general comments, but DO post your time and how you made out.

You can certainly send your solution to my private reply, or if you need a hint for today’s Cryptogram ASK THE GROUP FOR HELP!

I suggest printing these out and work them on paper. If you need a little help you can copy and paste it to Hal’s Helper below.

You can then work on the puzzle without using pen and paper, but I recommend that you do NOT look at the letter counter. 

   HAL'S CRYPTOGRAM HELPER

One last request. Feel free to post a fun or clever clue, the more tangential to the quotation the better, but please don’t put the actual words of the quote in the clue.

[nikos1121]

From The Arkansas Gazette

4 minutes good
3 minutes excellent
2 minutes exceptional
90 seconds superior

[grey_whiskers]

1 min or so?

First three words by inspection, word 18 or so (3 letters), guess at the word before that, easy peasy.

[freedom1st]

First 3 words opened the pathway to the solution. About 1 min. Thanks for posting these nikos1121. I like forward to them every day.

[grey_whiskers]

PS I could drown in those eyes. (Not the older version of her, though.)

[nikos1121]

This is one of those CGs where you can do it almost word for word, for sure sentence by sentence.

[Magnum44]

I guess I could have used Helen Reddy as well

[RC one]

My mother would like this one.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Previous puzzle Monday 4/26/2021:

L CLSVTF OXTLXNX KRJK SXQDXZK LQ J TPK VPSX LVDPSKJHK, JHA J TPK WSXJKXS, KRJH DPDYTJSLKF. —IYTLYQ XSNLHW

Solution to previous puzzle (select the yellow text with your cursor to read):

I FIRMLY BELIEVE THAT RESPECT IS A LOT MORE IMPORTANT, AND A LOT GREATER, THAN POPULARITY. —JULIUS ERVING

HAL'S CRYPTOGRAM HELPER

[CovenBuster]

Here’s an extra puzzle today for my fellow cryptogram-aholics. I have no way to assess how many minutes would qualify as good, excellent, exceptional or superior. (I never time myself because I do them for fun and often multitask while working them.) If you enjoy working them against the clock, feel free to post your times. I’ll post the solution (in yellow) on tomorrow’s cryptogram thread. Enjoy!

P QUT U QUT SXTM PM UVEUMQUQ ILUI TUQ ILZ JUQIZQI QUT P ZFZV QUT QUT. PJ KXH’FZ AXI U QUT ILUI BUM QUT UQ JUQI UQ ILZ QUT P QUT QUT SXTM PM UVEUMQUQ, P’S DPEZ IX QZZ KXHV QUT QUT. WHI P WZI KXHV QUT BUM’I QUT UQ JUQI UQ ILZ QUT P QUT QUT SXTM PM UVEUMQUQ, ‘BUHQZ ILZ QUT P QUT QUT SXTM PM UVEUMQUQ PQ ILZ JUQIZQI QUT P ZFZV QUT QUT!
—UMXMKOXHQ

Clue: If I were a carpenter

P.S. to enumerated: I read once where you said you sometimes do them in your head. I do the same thing at times, but it really requires focus. Let me know if you do this one in your head. Pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to, but I’m up in years and my brain’s database is pretty full. That’s my excuse and I’m sticking to it.

Thanks, nikos1121, for allowing me to post this!

[Magnum44]

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

2:12.29

I am woman, hear me roar.

California's Next Republican Governor

[gundog]

Author in about three seconds.

[CovenBuster]

Dude(ette), showoff!

[CovenBuster]

Hilarious! Shame on you for not including a Depends alert.

[gundog]

I need to find a real monster of a puzzle. Seems that there are always one or two words, or punctuation that defeat any of them.

[blueunicorn6]

Hmmmmm.....

I’ll bet that clue has something to do with it.

“If I were a carpenter.”

My table wouldn’t be made out of rocks.

Is that it?

Did I win?

A new table?

[KosmicKitty]

First time I am not embarrassed by how long that took.

Under 3 minutes, but with practice I hope to improve.

[Lonesome in Massachussets]

Bonus Puzzle: 4:46.61

Click image for hint:

[enumerated]

Yes, I did this one in my head.

Disclaimer: I’m not going to win any speed contests doing it in my head, because the limitations of my memory retention requires some “reinventing the wheel.”

For example, if I’d used Hal’s Cryptogram Helper on this one, completing the first part would have automatically filled in a lot of the rest and I’d have finished it in a flash...

Whereas, doing it in my head, I stupidly found myself solving things I’d already solved... :-)

But I think in many ways it’s more fun this way.. at least for me.