Get Erma Bombeck Cryptogram Puzzle #4

To decode the fictitious message in the cryptogram, begin by grouping each set of two letters starting with the first two letters (FG) and continuing through the message. The code letters are arbitrarily arranged in groups of five letters. Some letter pairs will carry over from one line to the next.

A cryptogram is a puzzle with an encrypted message, where each letter in the message has been substituted by another letter of the alphabet. As you guess each substitution, add the letter everywhere it occurs in the puzzle, and the message will start to reveal itself.

The key, so to speak, is to look at some of the conventions of the English language and play a game of percentages and educated guesses. Look for Popular Letters. ... Solve the Short Words. ... Spot the Repeated Letters. ... Look for Digraphs. ... Go for the Unusual. ... Don't Overlook the Obvious. ... Look for the Pattern. ... So, What Is the Code?

The basic strategy is to continually build on what you have, using the letters you know to help figure out other letters and words in the message. Check the list of letters you've used (which are marked off automatically at the top of the puzzle) as you go to help you think about your possibilities.

The basic strategy is to continually build on what you have, using the letters you know to help figure out other letters and words in the message. Check the list of letters you've used (which are marked off automatically at the top of the puzzle) as you go to help you think about your possibilities.

A cryptogram is a puzzle with an encrypted message, where each letter in the message has been substituted by another letter of the alphabet. As you guess each substitution, add the letter everywhere it occurs in the puzzle, and the message will start to reveal itself.