The Puzzle Addict's Book of Codes: 250 Totally Addictive Cryptograms for You to Crack 1841127272, 9781841127279
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes 250 Totally Addictive Cryptograms for You to Crack Philip Carter
Copyright © 2006 by
Philip Carter
First published 2006 by
Capstone Publishing Ltd. (a Wiley Company) The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, PO19 8SQ, UK. www.wileyeurope.com
Email (for orders and customer service enquires): [email protected] The right of Philip Carter to be identified as the author of this book has been asserted in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except under the terms of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988 or under the terms of a licence issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency Ltd, 90 Tottenham Court Road, London W1T 4LP, UK, without the permission in writing of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons Ltd, The Atrium, Southern Gate, Chichester, West Sussex PO19 8SQ, England, or emailed to [email protected], or faxed to (+44) 1243 770571. Designations used by companies to distinguish their products are often claimed as trademarks. All brand names and product names used in this book are trade names, service marks, trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. The Publisher is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book. This publication is designed to provide accurate and authoritative information in regard to the subject matter covered. It is sold on the understanding that the Publisher is not engaged in rendering professional services. If professional advice or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be sought. Other Wiley Editorial Offices John Wiley & Sons Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030, USA Jossey-Bass, 989 Market Street, San Francisco, CA 94103-1741, USA Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH, Boschstr. 12, D-69469 Weinheim, Germany John Wiley & Sons Australia Ltd, 42 McDougall Street, Milton, Queensland 4064, Australia John Wiley & Sons (Asia) Pte Ltd, 2 Clementi Loop #02-01, Jin Xing Distripark, Singapore 129809 John Wiley & Sons Canada Ltd, 22 Worcester Road, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M9W 1L1 Wiley also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic books. A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library and the Library of Congress. ISBN 13: 978-1-84112-727-9 (PB) ISBN 10: 1-84112-727-2 (PB) Typeset in Garamond 11/14pt by MCS Publishing Services Ltd, Salisbury, Wiltshire Printed and bound in Great Britain by TJ International Ltd, Padstow, Cornwall This book is printed on acid-free paper responsibly manufactured from sustainable forestry in which at least two trees are planted for each one used for paper production. Substantial discounts on bulk quantities of Capstone Books are available to corporations, professional associations and other organizations. For details telephone John Wiley & Sons on (+44) 1243-770441, fax (+44) 1243 770571 or email [email protected]
Dedication This book is dedicated to the memory of a dear friend and colleague, Ken Russell (1925ä–ä2005)
Contents Introduction
1
1 Cryptograms Level Oneä—äStandard Cryptograms Level Twoä—äKeyed Cryptograms
5 5 38
2 Codes and Cipher Puzzles Level Oneä—äWarm-up Puzzles Level Twoä—äMore Challenging Puzzles Level Threeä—äVery Challenging Puzzles
53 54 65 103
3 Famous Codes and Ciphers The Enigma Code The Rosetta Stone The Lincoln Cipher Psalm 46 The Beale Ciphers England Expects The Playfair Cipher
123 123 126 129 130 132 140 141
4 Answers and Explanations
145
vii
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5 Addenda Addendum 1 Addendum 2 Addendum 3 Addendum 4
Morse Code Nato Alphabet Semaphore Smiley Faces
viii
207 207 209 210 211
Introduction The word ‘cryptography’, meaning the science of codes, is derived from the Greek words kryptos (secret) and graphos (writing). Cryptography includes the use of concealed messages, ciphers and codes, its purpose being to alter the form of a message or communication in such a way that it is intelligible only to the person possessing the key. Cryptanalysis (which may also be referred to as ‘cryptanalytics’, ‘cryptography’ or ‘cryptology’) is the breaking of the codes or cipher without the key. Technically, there is a subtle difference between codes and ciphers. A code is based on complete words or phrases, where all the words are replaced by code words or numbers, and a code book is needed in order for a message to be sent or read. A cipher, on the other hand, uses single letters which are either jumbled up or replaced by other letters, numbers or symbols. Often, however, the more familiar word code is used to mean either a code or a cipher. Recently, the success of Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code has spurred a renewed interest in the area of codes, ciphers and cryptograms. Secret codes and ciphers have been used since ancient times and several can still be dated back many thousands of years. Jewish writers, for example, 1
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
sometimes concealed the meaning of text by a system called ‘atbash’, in which they reversed the alphabet by using the last letter in place of the first, the next last for the second, and so on. Spartan ephors, or magistrates, communicated with their generals in the field of battle by means of messages written across the adjoining edges of a strip of parchment wrapped spirally around a staff called a scytale (Fig. 1). Once unrolled, the message could only be deciphered by wrapping the strip around an identical staff. In 405 BC the Greek general, Lysander of Sparta, was sent a similarly coded message written on the inside of a servant’s belt. When Lysander wound the belt around a wooden baton the message was revealed. The message warned Lysander that Persia was about to go to war against him. As a result he immediately set sail and defeated the Persians. The oldest method of sending secret messages is to find effective methods by which to conceal them. For example, the ancient Greek historian and ‘father of history’ Herodotus (c. 484ä–ä425 BC) recorded that a Greek named Demaratus, who was living in exile in Persia, found an ingenious way to smuggle vital information out of that country. In those days, wooden tablets covered with wax were used for writing, so Demaratus wrote a message on the wooden tablet itself and then covered that with wax, thereby concealing his message. The Greek writer Polybius invented the 5 " 5 Polybius square, widely used in various cryptographic systems, an example of which will be found later in this book. A form of this code was still being used 2000 years later, during the First World War. 2
Introduction
S F
L K Figure 1 The Roman emperor, Julius Caesar, who was one of the first people to use codes in the field of battle, used a simple monoalphabetic substitution cipher, known as the Caesar shift, which involved shifting letters by a number of positions, say three, along the alphabet so that A became D, B became E, C became F, etc. The aim of this book is to remove some of the mystique surrounding the science of cryptography by presenting, in a fun and entertaining way, a wide and varied selection of puzzle challenges in which readers will be able to familiarise themselves with different types of codes and ciphers, both traditional as well as new and original, and as a result will become much more proficient in the art of cryptanalysis.
3
1 Cryptograms Level Oneä—äStandard Cryptograms A STRAIGHT SUBSTITUTION CRYPTOGRAM IS WHEN E GIBEWRUI GOQGIWIOIWTK HBPVITRBEF WG XUZK EACH LETTER OF THE ALPHABET HAS BEEN ZEHU YZIIZB TD IUZ EYVUEQZI UEG QZZK RANDOMLY REPLACED BY ANOTHER. BEKNTFYP BZVYEHZN QP EKTIUZB.
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The simplest cryptograms are those in which every letter of the alphabet from A to Z (known as the plain text) is substituted for another in the coded text, e.g. the letter A 5
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
might be substituted by the letter E and the letter B might be substituted by the letter Q, as in the example above. This substitution may be random, as in the case of all the puzzles which appear in this section, or it may be to a pattern, e.g. where A is substituted by C, B is substituted by D and C is substituted by E. This type of substitution is known as the ‘Caesar shift’, after the Roman emperor Julius Caesar, who is reputed to have devised this code. Cryptanalysts have at their disposal a great deal of information, such as letter and word frequency. The latest information on the order in which letters appear most frequently in the English language is ETAOINSHR, and the full list of the 26 letters of the alphabet, together with their associated percentages, is as follows: a b c d e f g h i j k l m
8.2 1.5 2.8 4.3 12.7 2.2 2.0 6.1 7.0 0.2 0.8 4.0 2.4
n o p q r s t u v w x y z
6.7 7.5 1.9 0.1 6.0 6.3 9.1 2.8 1.0 2.4 0.2 2.0 0.1
The order in which letters appear most often at the beginning of a word is TAOSTWHCB and at the end ESDTNRYO. 6
Cryptograms
So, armed with such a wealth of information, how does one go about decoding a simple substitution cryptogram, i.e. one in which each letter of the alphabet has been substituted for another? By far the easiest ones to deal with are those that contain a four-letter word which begins and ends with the same letter, e.g. JDBJ. There is an extremely good chance this is the word THAT, which should then enable you to discover the word THE, and now you are well on your way to solving the cryptogram. If the word THAT does not appear, then try to work out what might be the letter E and pencil this in lightly under the coded text throughout the cryptogram. Then look for singleletter words, which will usually either be A or I, and a repeated three-letter word ending, possibly ING, the most common three-letter ending in the English language. Also look for other obvious words, such as AND, and the most common two-letter word in the English language, OF. Double letters (EE, FF, LL, OO, RR and SS are the most common) and fourletter endings, such as LESS and NESS, can also be identified. Next, look for frequently paired letter combinations and sets of three letters. There are tables of frequencies of pairs of letters (known as digraphs) and sets of three letters (trigraphs) to assist the cryptanalyst. The 30 most common digraphs in the English language are, in order of occurrence: th, er, on, an, re, he, in, ed, nd, ha, at, en, es, of, or, nt, ea, ti, to, it, st, io, le, is, ou, ar, as, de, rt, ve. The 15 most common trigraphs are: the, and, tha, ent, ion, tio, for, nde, has, nce, edt, tis, oft, sth, men. 7
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
Also look for short words, the most frequent being, in descending order: THE, OF, AND, TO, IN, THAT and IS. Although the puzzles in this section are all simple substitution types, more complicated methods do exist, e.g. when randomly chosen numbers are substituted for each letter, for instance, 192 may stand for T, or 59 for E. In even more complicated versions of such ciphers, one letter may have more than one number equivalent, e.g. the letter S may be 37 the first time it appears, 79 the second time and 42 the third time. These alternative numbers are known as homophones. Without the key such messages, and even more complicated versions of them, would be virtually impossible to decode except by intelligence agencies with very sophisticated equipment. 1 JTQTIRVRBO ZNV LBOT GWYZ SBA FVPYZRNJAP EP VFATNLROM ROSBAGNJRBO NEBWJ RJ, NV UTQQ NV YBOJAREWJROM JB JZT OTTL SBA RJ. NQSATL ZRJYZYBYX
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Cryptograms
2 EWNTAPC EV H PEL, H QEEJ AT H UHB’T QCTN VMACBP. ABTAPC EV H PEL AN’T NEE PHMJ NE MCHP. LMEWIZE UHMY
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3 Z XIAY NYBNXZQYP. Z XZFY WCY SCIIPCZQM PIVQN WCYO KBFY BP WCYO GXO RO. NIVMXBP BNBKP
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
4 EVKHVA SEV MH EVK EQHFVO HW UHDI YDHJNMAM NO NZV’O OCA UHDI CA NZ ZFYYHZAM OH XA MHNVR EO OCA QHQAVO. DHXADO XAVSCBAK
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5 PIIPCWXAUWS UO BUOOFM NS BPOW IFPIJF NFZLXOF UW UO MCFOOFM UA PEFCLJJO LAM JPPTO JUTF QPCT. WKPBLO LJEL FMUOPA
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Cryptograms
6 AWYBYHZWV ZV AQEFAHAXU PVATPX CV C TYFH YT AHRXYUHABE TYF AWYBYHZVEV. SYIB MABBAEI NCXOFCZEI
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7 SQX SALMYBX TWSQ YXWHD OMHISMJB WG SQJS HLYLRN’G SQXAX SL JOOAXIWJSX WS. KAJHPBWH O. ELHXG
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
8 DW D ELQP ZPPV WLMGEPM GELV RGEPMZ, DG DZ XPULNZP D YLZ ZGLVCDVK RV GEP ZERNOCPMZ RW KDLVGZ. DZLLU VPYGRV
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9 TQJYZRCKX JIGC VR CIXVCK RQ HQ I BQR QP RLVENX, OZR JQXR QP RLC RLVENX RLCU JIGC VR CIXVCK RQ HQ HQE’R ECCH RQ OC HQEC. IEHU KQQECU
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Cryptograms
10 PZ PJ RT PKZNXNJZ ZR KRZN ZMHZ QMPDN JRON GRDYMPKJ HXN XNYRXZNG ZR MHCN DNHXKNG NKADPJM ä—ä WY ZR TPTZL QRXGJ WJNG PK ERXXNEZ RXGNX ä—ä KR MWOHK VNPKA MHJ VNNK XNYRXZNG ZR MHCN DNHXKNG GRDYMPKNJN. EHXD JHAHK
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11 ZYGKPCGKZ C PTCRJ PTK ZHBKZP ZCOR PTLP CRPKMMCOKRP MCEK KSCZPZ KMZKQTKBK CR PTK HRCAKBZK CZ PTLP RYRK YE CP TLZ PBCKU PY FYRPLFP HZ. VCMM QLPPKBZYR
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
12 WYS DTNSEWNINT WYSKVL N ZNFS MSDW ND WYCW WYS VNEJD KI DCWHVE CVS TKRQKDSA SEWNVSZL KI ZKDW CNVZNES ZHJJCJS. RCVF VHDDSZZ
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13 OLGR EZDYR Z FUXLKXF Z LRX L RXE-QTVEF KLUGYKXOOTA – AYXE Z ATCX VQ RYX QZOOTA ALG DTEX. RTKKJ MTTQXU
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Cryptograms
14 VEUDZBT ZU UBKMQDZTS QDEQ SBMU ZT BTM AMEO ETW BHQ QDM BQDMO. HTRTBCT
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15 SP SW PDT IEVM ZA EC TKQUEPTK ISCK PZ LT ELBT PZ TCPTVPESC E PDZQJDP GSPDZQP EUUTOPSCJ SP. EVSWPZPBT
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
16 GF SFVZMMZOVWGM KFRU SK KRDZRFZ QNR OGF MSKVZF VR VNZ QSMMSGD VZMM RIZPVWPZ GFH FRV VNSFL RT VNZ MRFZ PGFAZP. HGF PGVNZP
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17 QFRBWTHWS RFHID JBUFTIRFIY ZS QPDWLDDPBI, ZLY PY PD BIAS FVVFWYPUF PV SBL WHI DYBX XFBXAF YHANPIJ. WAFRFIY HYAFF
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Cryptograms
18 FQ ZWH CLBPS MWLVPS RPLC FZMHPQ VT, ZWH PIMZ IVSFRPH NLFYH CLVPS RH ZWIZ LQ IE HATHBZ MIOFED FZ YIE’Z RH SLEH. THZHB VMZFELN
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19 NORZ QZK BGYE UZFGLRZ BAZM AGIZ RDQZBAOKX BD RGM, JDDYR UZFGLRZ BAZM AGIZ BD RGM RDQZBAOKX. VYGBD
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
20 LIHIGE ULIBV JMN XDN IY JMN MOFXL AXTN, HOJ NRNAEHIGE XDANNV JMXJ SJ SV ICG NLIODM JI ULIB HNJJNA. XLILEFIOV
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21 CQ YZRPR IPR YUB BP FBPR UIDT YB HB TBFRYZCWO, IWH BWR BQ YZRTR UIDT XIW PRTASY CW I XIYITYPBJZR, YZRW TBFRBWR UCSS HB CY. RHUIPH I FAPJZD VP
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Cryptograms
22 SGO GTAS UJXQ BGDQW GXQW BQGBAQ NG AGTC JN SGO FGT’I IJLQ QXQWSIUYTC JDJS VWGE IUQE. ZOI DUQT SGO’XQ WGZZQF J EJT GV QXQWSIUYTC, UQ’N TG AGTCQW YT SGOW BGDQW – UQ’N VWQQ JCJYT. JAQRJTFQW NGAHUQTYINST
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23 C NFU FG GTNNFRE IFRCKCPE OCJT C L.C., S.K., FV MO.K. QIGFVUQICUTNP UOTP KFI’U OCJT C W.F.L. GCUE KFSBIF
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
24 FW PWN YWPFUBP NZU GSFQUBUPN WM HPWNZUI VUYHSEU LN FLMMUIE MIWB OWSI WAP. OWS BHO VWNZ VU AIWPQ. FHPFUBLE
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25 GSIQ ZWSQR WSAQ EL EYYCN ZYJSG ZWSQR WSAQ E DELELE. BYCJVKC IEYH
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Cryptograms
26 A ZVHNNLR ELKALXAIQ AI ZSIVS YKSFZ OJLI CP CHVJLD VHHM CL VH ZLL JAC AI S RLNSDVCLIV ZVHDL, SIR JL SZMLR BHD CP SFVHQDSNJ. ZJADKLP VLCNKL
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27 M HVU’F OGUF GUP PRL-CRU GZVTUH CR. M OGUF RARZPSVHP FV FRWW CR FYR FZTFY RARU MD MF IVLFL FYRC FYRMZ BVSL. LGCTRW NVWHOPU
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
28 BRCCPS GKS RY EASM ZVJ’QS BSX YV BGMZ ISVIPS XAGX SQSDZ MSE ISDYVM ZVJ BSSX DSBRMCY ZVJ VN YVBSVMS SPYS. VKCSM MGYA
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29 NYI BUGPI VQ NYI QGNYIK FM NYI EVLIKM RCZCKZIM QGEFUS FR G XIKS REGUU VMI, BGKNFPCUGKUS FQ YI BUGSR DVUQ. ZIKNKGML KCRRIUU
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Cryptograms
30 YW RTJ’Z MJTY K EXDDXTJZL TQ TJW NWVAWJZ KUTHZ KJIZLXJF. ZLTEKO KDBK WRXOTJ
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31 VDF AFXWARWYHF VDZGQ WYTCV NDWRFNBFWAF ZN VDWV DF AFWHHE ZN JFAE QTTL, ZG NBZVF TU WHH VDF BFTBHF SDT NWE DF ZN JFAE QTTL. ATYFAV QAWJFN
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
32 IDJV DC KTNX TNBBVGC KTVG PQH NWV LNODGY QXTVW BINGC. ZQTG IVGGQG
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33 IKVUXRZUVO VY QZVAE IQHZ UF OFWAU WG UF UMZAUN MVUXFWU UICVAE FLL NFWK YXFZY. RVOCZN RFWYZ
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Cryptograms
34 PGQI TI RIIRLATGBBK TL AER IGPR XQSTA. PGQI TI IXPRJERQR AER IGPR HTIAGLUR NQXP AER IOL, JETUE TI WRQK TPVXQAGLA. JR EGWR IRRL VTUAOQRI JERQR AERQR GQR UGLGBI, JR SRBTRWR, GLH JGARQ. TN AERQR TI JGARQ, AEGA PRGLI AERQR TI XYKDRL. TN XYKDRL, AEGA PRGLI JR UGL SQRGAER. HGL FOGKBR
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35 IGG XEW IQP GVJO YPGYJP SQG TVGS QGS IG MRV IQP HGRVIMO EMP XRUO WMZCZVF HEXU EVW HRIIZVF QEZM. FPGMFP XRMVU
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
36 QN LVKDVQ, ZNG VDDU F ONNU LSFOLVFQLNV FVU F YLHD NJ TGVW. QCNSFI FHKF DULINV
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37 LZOEO BEO CYEGO LZNKJG NK TNVO LZBK AOBLZ. ZBPO HYW OPOE GMOKL BK OPOKNKJ CNLZ BK NKGWEBKIO GBTOGFBK? CYYAH BTTOK
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Cryptograms
38 GLU NDB RLS EUDZP BSGLTBA DG DCC TP VUGGUE UZQMDGUZ GLDB GLU NDB RLS EUDZP BSGLTBA VQG BURPKDKUEP. GLSNDP FUYYUEPSB
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39 YCV CDKLVHY YCXSQ XS YCV REKTL YE BSLVKHYDSL XH YCV XSAEPV YDG. DTNVKY VXSHYVXS
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
40 IGEI AX INW GRAQAIU IM OWXEBARW MINWBX GX INWU XWW INWDXWQSWX. GRBGNGD QATEMQT
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41 USLXM NUV’R HMJCRM LR LQQ. NR’U CVQP LV ECGH’U BHNOM LALP NW PCGH XLH XCGQB KC URHLNKER GSALHBU. WHMB ECPQM
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Cryptograms
42 BIWBKI NPW PGDI NPGM MPIZ NGVM GFI AWVS WA MIKKXVR BIWBKI NPW PGDIV’M NPGM MPIZ NGVM MPGM MPIZ FIGKKZ SWV’M NGVM XM. WRSIV VGUP
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43 CB GKV NVACBBCBA GKV XBCPVUZV IJZ YUVJGVE. GKCZ WJEV J QTG TM OVTOQV PVUL JBAUL, JBE KJZ NVVB ICEVQL UVAJUEVE JZ J NJE CEVJ. ETXAQJZ JEJWZ
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
44 YWOQO’X N WOPP AL N TSXYNUFO VOYMOOU MSXOFQNFBSUE NUT MSY. MSY WNX YQCYW SU SY, MSXOFQNFBSUE SX XSKZPR FNPPSXYWOUSFX MSYW MAQTX. TAQAYWR ZNQBOQ
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45 S’R PUZZO UKUST SW S WGQTR U PUT IEG EUR WSWHFFT PSVVSGT RGVVUZC, IGQVR CSKT GNFZ EUVW HG PF, UTR KQUZUTHFF HEUH EF’R DF RFUR ISHEST U OFUZ. DFHHF RUNSC
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Cryptograms
46 WLWGM MWDG, XDUN UJIWR RZGVOB, AVYP ODRYM SVYYSW XVGQR MDZZVOB YPWVG KJJS PWDQR JKK DOQ YPW BGJEOQ DSS IEUNWQ EZ AVYP ZSDOYR. QJGJYPM ZDGNWG
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47 EFK PAFX KZT PFDX FSZTX MZDN GOYEEYE STX XAYK WZCYO F QTMXUXTGY ZR EAUDE. QFY PYEX
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
48 QA QV RQWWQPSXA AH ZBHRSPJ F AJXJKQVQHT RHPSEJTAFBL AUFA QV YHAU QTPQVQKJ FTR ZBHYQTD OUJT JKJBL AOJXKJ EQTSAJV HTJ QV QTAJBBSZAJR YL AOJXKJ RFTPQTD BFYYQAV VQTDQTD FYHSA AHQXJA ZFZJB. BHR VAJBXQTD
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49 VR VW UJRRJG RQ SJJZ FQXG KQXRO IBQWJT PHT BJR ZJQZBJ ROVHS FQX PGJ P CQQB ROPH RQ QZJH VR PHT GJKQEJ PBB TQXUR. KPGS RLPVH
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Cryptograms
50 Y BHV TNZNJDSI LJ H DLXT LW SHDYJ HCNTYZH, HJM DAN LJSI TNUTND Y AHKN BHV DAHD Y MYMJ’D VDXMI SHDYJ HD VZALLS VL Y ZLXSM ZLJKNTVN BYDA DALVN RNLRSN. Q. MHJWLTM GXHISN
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51 Q YPA’E YHKHCLH ETQK GSGCY, VWE ETHA Q TGLH GCETCQEQK GAY Q YPA’E YHKHCLH ETGE HQETHC. BGIM VHAAD
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
52 UIL’X HIWWO YJ OIG’WD K BMDRXICKLYKA, OIG AKL KMHKOP XKBD PICDXVYLN JIW YX. KLILOCIGP
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53 L TLBCHI GZ L YHUUQM MSQ UHBFZ OQD SGZ DJTIHUUL MSHB RSH ZDB GZ ZSGBGBK, TDR MLBRZ GR TLVC RSH JGBDRH GR ZRLIRZ RQ ILGB. JLIC RMLGB
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Cryptograms
54 BPVFGK FD LWMWOQ VYW BMV JH NWWZFGK B OBMKW KMJRZ JH ZWJZOW HMJL PJRKYFGK. DFM MBOZY MFPYBMADJG
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55 UZ UE CNGCRE ZTI MIEZ SJNUVR ZJ ESICH ZTI ZOKZT ä—ä KFNIEE, JY VJKOEI, RJK COI CF IPVISZUJFCNNR AJJL NUCO. BIOJXI H. BIOJXI
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
56 MVZCK HF RPZG K YXS YZOF FOKLLZU HG OPZ LKIN KGU, HGFOZKU MB LAZZUHGY, PZ FHGYF. ZU YKCUGZC
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57 VI JK RSERLSQ NXC EVZCVKMXVZARE ZWVRKCVZC ZJQZ CAJC ZBGRCAVKM VZ UBZZVNSR AR VZ JSGBZC WRLCJVKSQ LVMAC, NXC VI AR ZJQZ CAJC VC VZ VGUBZZVNSR AR VZ FRLQ UBZZVNSQ OLBKM. JLCAXL W. WSJLPR
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Cryptograms
58 XZ JTDR PJC MJSDC PXBQ NQ AJNQ KDQGU AXPT! DXWQ NGWXTP G DGUPQ CQOJAXL XT NR TGNQ XT G AMXAA VGTW. MJJCR GDDQT
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59 AKHRS RSBRS MR CAS CAMBN J AKHRS AJR FAMZA DSSOR MC IHKG ESCCMBN KB OSKOXS. F. Z. IMSXYR
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
60 WGUG SY CWG CGYC CV LSIT JWGCWGU KVXU FSYYSVI VI GDUCW SY LSISYWGT. SL KVX’UG DBSOG SC SYI’C. USAWDUT MDAW
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Level Twoä—äKeyed Cryptograms Although the majority of cryptograms are straightforward simple substitution types, as contained in Level 1, what if the sender of the message wishes to convey a further message in the same cryptogram? This is done by the addition of keywords, which may be hidden in the plain or keyed text. The way these additional messages can be uncovered is illustrated by means of the following comment from Oliver Hardy, which he made to explain why he thought the Laurel and Hardy partnership was so successful. There is a further quotation keyed (5, 2, 4, 8 letters long) by Henry Ward Beecher: G LZOKK GI BRK SOPRZKO BO BOHO KM PMFXWOIOWD ZQWGVO GQ OAOHD BRD. SZI, WGVO SRPMQ RQN OLLK, BO KOOFON IM SO RSMZI XOHTOPI IMLOIJOH ä—ä SZI QMI KM LMMN RXRHI. 38
Cryptograms
As in the case of all the cryptograms in Level 1, this is a simple substitution cryptogram, which when deciphered reads: I guess it was because we were so completely unlike in every way. But, like bacon and eggs, we seemed to be about perfect togetherä—äbut not so good apart. To find the keyed quotation, place the code text in juxtaposition to the plain text, thus: Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: R S P N O T L J G V W F Q M X H K I Z A B D
As nothing appears yet which might look like a message, arrange the code text alphabetically in juxtaposition to the plain text. Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain: V W Y M I R T H S G O D E C N A B F K L P U
Usually the keyword or, in this case, the keyed quotation, contains the only letters which do not appear in alphabetical order. By inspecting the plain text you may usually pick out where the alphabet appears in orderly succession and thus isolate the keyword letters. Above we see A to Y in order, thus suggesting the keyed quotation is contained in the letters MIRTHSGODECN. Because letters cannot be repeated in simple substitution cryptograms, the fun now begins if the keyword or keyed phrase/quotation repeats letters. It is then necessary to use 39
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
your imagination to make sense of the message. In this case the quotation is MIRTH IS GOD’S MEDICINE. The addition of keywords has several purposes in addition to the practical use of sending an additional message which may escape the attention of the interceptor. It gives the compiler an opportunity to comment on the coded material, which is usually a quotation, and possibly display his own wit, or lack of it, and it adds an extra dimension to the puzzle. The cryptograms in Level 2 all contain keyed words, phrases or quotations which involve the above-described method of encryption. 1 OXK JKIHIA RA LW QXWXIKLJUG VLW, AX LKG HQGE LUU, LUU QXWXIKLJUG VGW. CRUURLV AQLTGAYGLKG (SIURIA MLGALK) Keyed phrase: 2, 2, 5. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
40
Cryptograms
2 FV JFIGHVFVQ UKKO, IRH IHHUHO GK IGLVO GRH QYLEOFLV VLFLO KP GRH IGELVO. IFE DLJGHE IMKGG (GRH JLOB KP GRH JLTH) Keyed phrase: 7, 4, 3 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
3 V GVWXTUTC UIQWC RSTH, QWCTU RSZR ATWVXW YFN: PZRBSTC RST HIRSY DGQRRTUVWX ZHIWX RST STZRS ZWC SZUTATGGY; GVYRTWTC RI RST YIDR PVWC AUTZRSVWX RSUIQXS RST XUZYY: ZWC PIWCTUTC SIP ZWNIWT BIQGC TLTU VHZXVWT QWKQVTR YGQHATUY DIU RST YGTTJTUY VW RSZR KQVTR TZURS. THVGN AUIWRT Keyed phrase: 9, 7 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain: 41
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
4 GRURYJHF RIYNUURPNILN RX J LDIYHJMRLYRDI RI YNHGX. PHDZLQD GJHE Keyed word: 8 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
5 F BIVFW SA GSUL F KLFHFQ. SK’A IWGD BRLW ARL’A SW RIK BFKLZ KRFK DIJ ZLFGSEL RIB AKZIWQ ARL SA. WFWND ZLFQFW Keyed phrase: 3, 5, 3 Plain Code
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Code Plain
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
42
Cryptograms
6 BJDC HRJCG! J MKS’B, BOCZ IT VFGOJSI EKGB BTT HKGB. Keyed phrase: 6, 5 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
7 FGOF FGSK XOFSYX, MXPHN IYP, KGOVV GOBH O XHC LSNFG YR RNHHPYW: OXP FGOF IYBHNXWHXF YR FGH ZHYZVH, LJ FGH ZHYZVH, OXP RYN FGH ZYHZVH, KGOVV XYF ZHNSKG RNYW FGH HONFG. OLNOGOW VSXQYVX Keyed phrase: 3, 10, 7 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
43
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
8 THCWLHM F NUMMUIHM, TUM F DHTPHM NH, QUM DUFT UQW DUJHJ NUWL CWJHDQ FTP QMCHTP, FTP NUMMUICTR PXDDJ WLH HPRH UQ LXJNFTPMA, WLCJ FNUYH FDD, WU WLCTH UIT JHDQ NH WMXH, FTP CW EXJW QUDDUI, FJ WLH TCRLW WLH PFA, WLUX OFTJW TUW WLHT NH QFDJH WU FTA EFT. ICDDCFE JLFGHJKHFMH (LFEDHU) Keyed phrase: 3, 4, 1, 4, 6 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
44
Cryptograms
9 YDV PQ NTMRRK DURK MUDOZTN MNOPQO. ZT PUHTUOTV OZT YPNMSST, OZT TRTEZMUO, MUV OZT XMO. ZT ZMQ UD NTMR QOKRT. ZT AGQO YDTQ DU ONKPUY DOZTN OZPUYQ. EMWRD EPXMQQD Keyed phrase: 3, 2, 4, 3, 4, 2, 3 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
10 GKTCY QRS MUGXR C YQRRUV WKV ACLX MQO VU, MBQVXLXJ GO WKTCRXTT CT. TQGKXF HXHOT Keyed phrase: 3, 2, 2, 3 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
45
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
11 GMDE DEF RXFHDFX VHXD JK XMPE VFJVIF, DEF PEMFK FLSJBUFLD JK XMPEFN PJLNMNDN ML DEF VHXHQF JK XMPEFN. HQHU NUMDE Keyed phrase: 3, 6, 2, 7 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
12 FK FY JZX KXZL VJMFGD KJ YKLLX GMLHX JP VLXUHILIK HMMFHIGL BFKR HID VJXKFJI JP KRL PJXLFQI BJXMO. QLJXQL BHYRFIQKJI Keyed phrase: 1, 6, 4, 1, 3 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
46
Cryptograms
13 X JNF N SWXRT NOT FWQ JNF N SWXRT, XO GWXF ZXOVTBA PL GWQ FQN, PHG JQ RBIQT JXGW N RBIQ GWNG JNF ABEQ GWNO RBIQ, X NOT AL _ _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _. QTVNE NRRNO CBQ
Keyed phrase (which completes the above): 7, 3 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
14 JKO, BPI ERZF DRJDFS DQP QEPHF QPOWJ, BPI ERZF EKJJFS RHH WB WBJDFOB HFNDIOFJ RLS ERZF GFFL NRIMED TKMEDKLM R HKRO KL DEF YIRS, BPI QKHH HFRZF PATPOS GB DEF LFAD DPQL SORKL. OFZ Q. R. JXPPLFO Keyed phrase: 3, 8, 4 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain: 47
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
15 QK MGN SGYL TOGY IPL PGJM JQHF, GT CQJKVHUPQYL, YLI MGN HGI CVIP YM IONL JGBL, RM IPL CQM QK MGN SQYL? PGC KPQJJ V XHGC MGNO IONL JGBL, IPQI PQBL YLI YQHM GHL, QK V CLHI IG IPL PGJM JQHF, IPQI PQBL SGYL, IPQI PQBL UGHL? KVO CQJILO OQJLVUP Keyed phrase: 4, 4, 4, 4 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
48
Cryptograms
16 IJNG JT DJAH MAHZI DJA MOBG SAHGQ, OKQ ZMG IMOHFGIZ DJA IZVPP MOBG IAHBVBGQ, RAZ LMOZ ZJHNGKZI JT UHVGT DJA GKQAHGQ, THJN GBVPI LMVSM KGBGH OHHVBGQ! HOPFM LOPQJ GNGHIJK Keyed phrase: 6, 4, 3, 4 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
17 LPH WNO GURR N RPG NVPHG N XURRPJ’F WYNQNWGUQ XQPC GYU JNL YU UNGF AURRL VUNOF. QPONRS QUNTNO Keyed phrase: 2, 4, 6 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
49
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
18 EU IQO JQEHO R JEFHL KCIQOK MO RU VQRHCLOHVQRC. JRHHRCD NHCFLO LFTOUBROHL ( J. N. BROHLG) Keyed phrase: 6, 4, 5 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
19 IAXHX BW FVXQIM RY IBEX TM UABOA UX OPQ UBQ IABW ZPEX, PQS IAHPWA IAX WFPQBPHSW IRR. WBH YHPQOBW SHPDX Keyed phrase: 6, 3, 5 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
50
Cryptograms
20 XBCT IJE ECRDFPWCK DEC DF BISC, XC BDWC FI FBPTH IN DRR FBCPE OIIM UIPTFK IE PF XIJRM GC PSUIKKPGRC FI CTMJEC FBCS. GJF XBCT FBCZ DEC DXDZ, XC LITKIRC IJEKCRWCK NIE FBCPE DGKCTLC GZ MXCRRPTO IT FBCPE WPLCK. OCIEOC GCETDEM KBDX Keyed phrase: 10, 5 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
21 D’ZI RIX K ETX TM OKJHCTDEIH INNW DS RF XDRI, CYX FTY’JI XGISXF RDSYXIW. Keyed phrase: 5, 6 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
22 BLL EMRN NML TYGB JI NML TRKX PYYS EJOO MRDL, RIQ NLOO NMLS J’S MRDJIV NML BRSL. UPRIX OYLBBRP Keyed phrase: 4, 6, 5 Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: Code: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Plain:
52
2 Codes and Cipher Puzzles It may well be doubted whether human ingenuity can construct an enigma of the kind which human ingenuity may not, by proper application, resolve. Edgar Allan Poe
In its widest sense, cryptography includes the use of secretly concealed messages, ciphers and codes, which may be hidden or disguised in many ways. The puzzles in Section 2 all present their own challenges, in which it is necessary to uncover within them some of the ways in which a message, instruction or quotation can be concealed. The puzzles have been divided into three parts, which gradually increase in difficulty. It is therefore recommended that you first tackle the puzzles in Level 1 before moving on to the more difficult puzzles in Levels 2 and 3. It is also recommended that, should you not find a solution to any of these puzzles immediately, you do not rush to look up the answer but instead return to the question some time later; perhaps even on several occasions. Quite often a puzzle 53
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
which baffles you initially may suddenly seem soluble if you later take a fresh look. Like most puzzles, many of the code and cipher puzzles in this section, especially those in Levels 2 and 3, may need to be worked at and thought about before the reward of a successful solution is obtained. To solve many of the puzzles in this section, it is necessary to put your mind to work to explore all the various possibilities and to use a great deal of creative and lateral thinking, in order to look for solutions that may not seem apparent on first inspection.
Level Oneä—äWarm-up Puzzles Level 1 is a selection of warm-up puzzlesä—äa pot-pourri of codes, ciphers and cryptogramsä—äto prepare your mind for what is to follow in Levels 2 and 3 and, perhaps, to give you an insight into the way in which the mind of a setter of cryptography puzzles works.
1 Decipher the following notice which was pinned up at a local recreation ground:
ER EHS
GO
DE
IT 54
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
2 Olga the agent sends the following message to her counterpart in the West. What does it mean? RFMOURSSAIIWHTOLEV 3 Julia decides to organise a meeting with her five friends; Barry, Tommy, Chloe, David and Alice, on a certain date during the school holidays. The names of her five friends, she tells them, will reveal the date of the meeting. What date in August does Julia plan to meet her friends? 4 Tony sent Jill a message giving details of their next secret liaison. What does it mean? SMAETEUTRYDOAUY 5 You receive the following message ‘Visit a lady known as Zena La Vue at her embassy in London’. Although you have never heard of the lady before you immediately know where you should meet her. How?
55
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
Puzzles 6ä–ä11
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 A B C D E I
J
Q R
F G H
K L M N O P S
Y Z #
T U V W X #
#
#
#
#
Each number provides a choice of either three or four letters in accordance with the above table. Now decode the following: 6 A saying: 6724565 6167523 485 22165. 7 A saying: 765 7774 4526 45352653 1674852. 8 A quotation: 454 53 674 4773 2133 16 16752, 672 6727124 16 6512, 254 127564 16 171256533. 21553 4852252
56
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
9 A quotation: 5652148167 4814 122141453 53 12754 748523 316 4514 47 16 5645234164167 76 752354653. 3124 2567 10 A saying: 72514 7133 6275 414445 137263 7277. 11 A quotation: 4145214525 13 342576 7148 485 72533175 76 48735 787 8165 516454 251764 251376 485 7816176 76 748523. 61271611 77746 12 The following coded message provides some preliminary information revealing where a top level summit is to take place. What is the information that the message reveals? LAFND
57
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
13
O U E R E O T E F
E T T
H L
S G
You must enter the maze and spell out a 16-letter phrase, in order to escape, by visiting each room once each only and entering the corridor as many times as you wish. What is the phrase? 14
What coded message is revealed above? 58
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
15 What message is revealed below? unhopeful, actor, beseech, joyous, elated, intense, shipment, befriend 16 Decode the message below which was found carved on a tree deep in the wood: 100504E
50O5ES O5041A
17 The secret agents have cryptic code names for each of their colleagues. The code names are Hypochondriac, Virtue, Devil and Banquet. Can you match four of the agents; Tessa, Delia, Enid and Dennis with their correct code name, and then work out the name of the agent whose code name is Postman? 18
$0.01
During a trial at the Old Bailey one of the reporters passes the coded message above to one of his colleagues. What does it mean?
59
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
Decode the disguised messages in each of the three puzzles below, which are all puzzles of a similar nature. 19
20
21
A meeting of African nation heads of state is to be held in London. At what venue?
60
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
22 Many years ago a mysterious guest was due to visit a hotel. In order to keep the guest’s identity a secret from those members of staff who were not privy to the method of encryption, the following coded message was pinned on the hotel notice board. Who was the guest?
E
I
T
S
I
R H C A
S
S
I
R A L
C Y R A M A H T A G A E M A D 23 What message is encoded below? TCAEO HKVHR EEEOO CNCMO HSOES IHMTT 24 The commander receives the message below from two of his men who have become stranded from his battalion. He immediately realises that the men are in difficulties. Why? SARGASSO SEA 25 The sergeant of the platoon received the following message from the commander on his mobile phone. What did it mean? NMUTUA 61
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
26 Some time later the sergeant received a further text message. What action should he now take? GLOSSY METALS 27 An aeroplane flying over a garden where a man was doing topiary work was surprised to find a message from him. What was the message?
28 An ambitious young man at the bank always keeps the notice below pinned up on his desk. What does it mean?
R
H T
W L
S
R
S Y
T T
M
P
T
H
29 In the 1980s an important visitor was expected to open a new extension at MI5 headquarters. As the visit was to be kept top secret, the visitor’s identity was circulated in the manner below. Who was the visitor?
Female 62
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
30 On a journey on the famous Route 66 in the USA the bus made several stopovers, which were cryptically recorded by one of the passengers on a blackboard as follows: AS SANK HOOK ALMA TAXES ONCE WE MIX FAIR OIL CAN Can you work out where the stopovers occurred?
Puzzles 31ä–ä36: Cryptophones Decipher the codes shown below the telephone face. Each number represents one of the letters shown with it on the telephone dial. A number does not necessarily represent the same letter each time.
STU
VWX
YZ
7
8
9
JKL
MNO
PQR
4
5
6
ABC
DEF
GHI
1
2
3
63
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
31 A saying: 521277379 37 732 557326 52 358257355 32 A comedy legend: 167376 7715429 422226755 417624 33 A saying: 2352 85627 177726 55 61675367 34 A saying: 7344 732 1587 1552 3552 35 A quotation: 73262 37 55 76314 75 12353 1 37556377 8325 957 3182 732 83542 3582655257 8564353 256 957 8344 653267 36 A quotation: 8572 21649 152 8572 52725 14 116552
64
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
37 Decode the following, which is a message received by the police revealing the precious commodity a gang are planning to steal: EQT RJJFT EQXE MXZF EQT RJMUTK TRRF 38 One day last week the following notice appeared, pinned on the front door of the Enigma Club. What did it mean? PI E 39 The safe can only be opened by using the keys in the correct order that spells out an English word. What is the word? Every key must be used just once.
O
N
T
E
65
L
M
A
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
40 Decode the quotation below: 18,7 18,8 26,15,4,26,2,8 7,19,22 25,22,8,7 11,12,15,18,24,2 7,12 8,11,22,26,16 7,19,22 7,9,6,7,19ä—ä6,13,15,22,8,8, 12,21 24,12,6,9,8,22, 2,12,6 26,9,22 26,13 22,3,24,22,11,7,18,12,13,26,15,15,2 20,12,12,23 15,18,26,9 17,22,9,12,14,22 16 17,22,9,12,14,22 41 Decode the following, which reveals the name of an area of the USA:
42 What location is revealed by the coded message below? MARCOV
WERDEN
KETGAR
ENTFLO
43 What book and film title is encoded in the grid below?
T O
I
A L
# T # H
#
A L
S
S M # T #
H # A N H E E D N D E A 66
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
44 Decode the following quotation: JR NER VAPYVARQ GB ORYVRIR GUBFR JUBZ JR QB ABG XABJ ORPNHFR GURL UNIR ARIRE QRPRVIRQ HF FNZHRY WBUAFBA 45 Decode the hidden message below, which was sent by Fred Rogers to his partner Ginger Astaire after they had a disagreement prior to a ballroom dance contest.
L
L
L
E T
T H C W S
E A
H N L O T I
O G E
F
F H
Puzzles 46ä–ä49: Deceptions Deception puzzles are a form of encoding a message by the alteration of word boundaries which can lead to initially confusing results, as in the following famous examples: (i)
Supposedly a sign on a post in Peru:
TOTI EMU LESTO 67
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
(ii) A sign on a door in Wales:
TOOP ENDO ORPU SH Although at first glance these may appear to be written in some strange language, closer inspection reveals the messages: (i) TO TIE MULES TO (ii) TO OPEN DOOR PUSH Now try to decode the following further examples: 46 A sign outside a public house in Oxfordshire:
HERESTO PANDS PEN D ASOCI AL HOU R INHAR M (LES SMIRT) HA ND FUNLET FRIENDS • HIPRE IGN BE JUSTAN DK INDAN DEVIL SPEAKOF NOO NE •
68
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
47 Found on a headstone in Lancashire, England:
BENE AT. HTH. IS ST ONERE. POS. ET H. CLAUD. COS. TERT R.I.P ES. ELLE. RO F. IMP ING. TONAS. DO TH. HISCO N SORT J A.N.E.
69
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
A further type of deception is the Latin-type verse, of which the following are two famous examples: 48 O SIBILI SI EMGO FORTIBUSES I NARO O NOBILI DEMIS TRUX VATIS INEM? CAUS AN DUX. 49 O, tome, isa eres ago Fortibus es in naro Nobile, nobile Temistrux, yusile Sewat sinem?ä—äjvst gvano 50 Decode the following to find a source of wealth: TCROE
DAESC
UORDE
ECCHO
EDSET
51 The CIA receive the coded message below that some illegal activity is taking place somewhere in the state of Washington. Where is this illegal activity taking place? Beware he who mounts the lens on Tuesday.
70
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
52 Abbreviations are commonly used today in text messages. This type of communication is a form of rebus, which is a word puzzle in which the meaning is encoded in word arrangements, e.g. ‘I8U’ would be an abbreviation of ‘I hate you’, and ‘CU soon’ would be an abbreviation of ‘see you soon’. Now try decoding the following, the meaning of which are not, perhaps, so obvious as the examples above: (i) (ii) (iii) (iv) (v) (vi) (vii) (viii) (ix) (x) (xi) (xii) (xiii)
AGNC ODV FEG XLNC AYZ XQQ DDEE XPDNC AQ JOY ` NNNNIC RE – ä–ä – . . – ä–ä . ICALLY
53 Decode the following to reveal a quotation by Dorothy Parker: BRVVVTYVSTHVSVVLVFLVNGVRVV
71
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
54
72 43 24 56 ? Robbers are planning a raid at noon on a certain date in January, as indicated by the question mark in the above grid. On which date will the raid take place? 55 Decode the grid below to find five words that read the same both across and down. The solution will reveal a location in Germany where a G7 conference is scheduled to take place. The code used is a straight substitution cipher, where each letter of the alphabet has been replaced by another.
D W X E
P
W X W P A X W Z A
J
E
O
P A
P A
72
J
I
O A
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
56 The safe can be opened only by spinning the four dials so that a four-letter English word is spelled out in the lower windows. What word will open the safe, reading from left to right?
X
L
H
B
L M
J
W
P K
F
X
K Y
H
T Y
P
P D
M
B
H
N X
73
N
X
S
M
H
Y
R
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
57 At a large international trial in Zurich, the following sign appeared outside of one of the hotel lounges. Who were the only people admitted to this lounge suite?
I
T
IT 58 Decode the following cipher:
74
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
59 The police sent the only description they had available of a wanted man to the members of the force, in code. What was the man’s distinguishing feature? HNL BRO
SAH
ADE AMU
TCE
60 In the following list, numbers have been allocated to letters in accordance with their position in the alphabet: A # 1, B # 2, C # 3, D # 4, E # 5, etc. However, to make the cryptoanalysis much more difficult, word boundaries have been eliminated, e.g. the word CIPHER, in which the position of the letters in the alphabet is 3ä–ä9ä–ä16ä–ä8ä–ä5ä–ä18, would appear as 39168518. Can you decode the five names below, and then choose which is the odd one out? 212020125198916 19212131189145 153511412914518 851293151620518 19205113215120 61 The FBI received a coded clue that some illegal activity was taking place somewhere in New York. Where specifically was this illegal activity taking place? Seek mean rump steak in Brooklyn
75
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
62 You receive the following text message from a colleague. What does it mean? MOCOTEEHTSEREUC 63 Decode the following cryptogram: IS’R A QEBERRIOM VGEM XOUQ MEIFGZOUQ KORER GIR HOZ, IS’R A CENQERRIOM VGEM XOU KORE XOUQ OVM GAQQX SQULAM 64 Decode the famous movie quote: AEG
ORD
YNF
MAI
NIE
MKR
NDV
TDA
YLA
76
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
65
O U L A M R G R M T O E S N T W R N M E T E O R T O A U P S F A W M E K C U O D C T The safe keypad has produced a six-letter word. You must keep one of the letters of this six-letter word only; the others must be produced by nudging one, two or three spaces up or down as required to produce another related six-letter word, to enable the safe to be opened.
Level Twoä—äMore Challenging Puzzles 1 What familiar saying is encoded below? YBD GKN LTS KWH TRY
2
2
E
77
1
S
Z Z
1
L
1
0
1
O L
2
3
1
V
2
E
2
D
2 Decipher the following:
U P
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
3 The local butcher received a text message from one of his customers which read: FUNEX To which he replied: SVFX The customer then sent a further text: FUMNX To which the butcher replied: SVFMNX What does it all mean? 4 Decode the following cryptogram to reveal the method of encryption: 3M GS3H N2GS4W 4V 2MXJ6LG34M GS2 F4D2PH (3MXP5W3MT 6) S1F2 Z22M 1PP4X1G2W M5NZ2JH VJ4N 4M2 G4 H3C 1MW GS2 X4MH4M1MGH 5H2W 3M J2F2JH2 4JW2J.
78
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
5 The manager of a Spanish football team sends the following encoded message to one of his scouts in England indicating that he is interested in signing a British player. Who is the player? Norwich City
3
Nottingham Forest
2
Aston Villa
4
Manchester United
3
Everton
1
Yeovil Town
1
6 This is a map of Treasure Island. Can you make sense of the grid to find where the treasure is buried?
T H H E R
I
E T T H
E R A D S
R
I
N
U O R W E A S D
I
D N O T W
H N E T A H R E E
S
A E
L C O O
C N A D T C E O D L O U N M T N
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
7 Decode the following to reveal a quote from a movie icon, and the name of the icon. VIRMTU EAHASI TESOWN REWAWR DEBUTN OBSOXO FTFICE 8 The police commissioner was worried about a current crime trend and sent the following coded message to his staff. What did it really mean? Is Sue stopping our mailman’s laughter 9 The admiral sent the following message to the captain of one of the ships in his fleet. What is its meaning? HEAR
AHOY
URGE
LOOK
IDEA
BOLD
AWAY
UNIT
ONYX
FLOW
HAUL
WARN
GULF
KEEL
AREA
WING
10 Decode the following message which James Bond sent with a gift to one of his lovers: direct, amount, onward, d-sharp, around, effigy, orient, evaded, erotic
80
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
11 A man working at MI5 once left the following cryptic message on his office door when he went for a quick lunch. What does it mean? S*X*Y
*I*U*E*
12
4
7
1
3
3
4
7
3
The above was a warning put on a large carboy in a secret laboratory. What was the warning?
81
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
13 Cross out 26 letters in the grid below to reveal a hidden message.
B T T W S E A N
I
A
O T
E Y S D
I
X R H L
F C
E
R
E T E T E
W R E
S M H
14 A lawyer has the following sign made for his desk. What does it mean?
OEI
AIO
LVS RCS
GRN EIA HND
DDV UEA RDG
RND
15 The army sent a coded message to one of its high-ranking officers to say he had been promoted. To what rank?
C S
J
H
C F K G U
J
I
V E
82
H Q P
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
16 A young man receives the text message below from his girlfriend who has just discovered he has cheated on her. What does the message mean? U(TUASPRF) 17
What do the symbols mean? 18 Two thieves plan to rob the concert hall of all its night’s takings immediately the orchestra starts to play a certain piece of music. The work from which the music is taken is written in code below. What is the work of music? NAME EIGHT IN THE GAME 19 What information is provided below: PEMRS ONCAL CIDEN TIXFI CAXTI ONINU MBVER
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
20 A stock market speculator sends a coded message to his broker. Can you crack the code to reveal the message? banker treasurer
Rosalind Flavius
Bangkok Mandalay
hawk macaw
Pentagram octagon
zircon platinum
Chekhov Xerxes 21 What coded message is hidden in the telegram below? Last agent at end of line is centre of attention. Starting point, from top of my head, is found at centre of task force. Keep to middle of the road. Impact initially at start of day. First attack at final extremity. 22
F X Y L D R G W A M U S N V J
S
B O K H
C P
E T Q
With the aid of the grid and spider find a place of mystical significance. It will be necessary to trace and then cut out the spider in order to solve the puzzle.
84
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
23 What famous London landmark is coded below?
S Q Z E Z K F
Z Q
24 Find a secret message in the arrangement of letters below:
N P Y E D S A E
E
L R C E G
Q D D A G T P X
I
L
E R Z
E
J
S D N R V I
S
T
O K D H V
D A E K E Q Z 25 Can you crack the coded message below? ATI ONC ODE KIN GRA GTH CON RAC TUL ISC ONS
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
26 What is hidden in the grid below?
N E
I
T
N U D
I
L
F
Y
I
F D E
E
J
I
T C
G N B O 27 Decode the following substitution cryptogram to uncover a hidden PIN number: KSRIVC GIB IESBY VCOCQMCL KVGA GIBXIB IEQSLCL VCYGMOC EIAFCVY SAXMSCL EGB CZXVCYYSOC KQEBQYBST SE OCVYC COGMOC 28 The Starship Enterprise receives a coded message from some of the crew who are exploring the planet below. Unfortunately the words are received in the wrong order; nevertheless, the commander was able to decipher the instruction and carry out the request. What is the hidden message? EMU
YACHT GRAB
TABLET
CAMEO MADAM
EXTRA PLUS
86
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
29 A tennis star sends a cryptogram to a fan telling her he will be in a certain location at an appointed time. Decode the message and fill in the grid below to find the location. HQ HTJS. FI RTN’YQ MTFUM OT GXZQ XU QYYTY, GXZQ X STTKR, XUS STU’O HQ XIYXFS OT BFO OBQ HXJJ. HFJJFQ LQXU ZFUM
C
G I
Q
U
L
O
87
V
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
30 The space ship commander has been orbiting the planet awaiting further instructions. He then receives his instructions in the form of the coded message below. What action should he now take? DECODE 7 7
3 3 3 3 3 7 3 3 7 7 7 7
ENCRYPT 3 3
7 3 3 3 7 3 7 3 3 3 3 3
31 A young man sends a text message to his girlfriend, ‘When will you marry me?’. His girlfriend replies in the form of the coded message below. What is her reply? VXYZä—äGIJKä—äCDFGä—äMOPQä—äOQRSä—äFGHJä—äFHIJä— äRTUVä—äDEGHä—äKMNOä—äVWXZ
88
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
32 A businessman is negotiating a new contract with an overseas customer and e-mails his business partner with the following coded message. What does it mean? I see Mabel to fix nude eel 33 The agents are given code names according to their number: agent 42 is code-named EXPLOITATION, agent 52 is code-named LIAISON, agent 59 is code-named HELIX and agent 55 is code-named LOVE. What number agent has the code name EXPLETIVE? 34 Richard of York battles in vain The message above was sent by a commander to the captain of his battalion. The captain has already been told that the message he will receive will contain a missing element and that this missing element will be his instruction as to whether they should halt the attack or go ahead with it. What action did the captain take when he received the message?
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
35 Find the hidden message in the grid below (3, 7, 3, 9, 3 letters long):
A N T O R T N U E
F
P N D O D L R E A C A L
E
S C
36 What phrase is coded below? PARC ATEE DUEH DOKT LHWP ETIU 37 In Morse code (see Appendix 1) the letters are written with gaps between them, e.g. the distress signal S O S is written:
In the code below a message has been transmitted in Morse code; however, the gaps between the letters have been omitted. Can you figure out where the gaps should be in order to decode the message (7, 4 letters long)?
90
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
38 What short message is revealed by the list of words below? silverä—änoticeä—äceriseä—äbureauä—äresistä—äsafariä—ä traumaä—ämaydayä—äauntieä—äspiralä—äeurekaä—ä anchorä—ätwelveä—äjigsawä—äavenueä—äwinterä—ä notifyä—äbikiniä—änebulaä—äzigzag 39 The stockbroker receives the following coded message from his client. What action should he take?
R F
B
L
E B
U R U
J W L
Y E
S Y N
F
N K E N L
T
U Z O X O C W L K W E A 40
’
Decode the message above.
91
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
41 The grid below provides the coordinates to a map of an area where some treasure is buried. Find a coded message in the grid to reveal behind which square in the grid the treasure is buried.
F O R P M W A £
/
H L
# &
f
z
J
I
D U Z
> C N z
!
@
# T R X O G # V Q M
A h D # W *
$
F K U E
†
M £ A ~ R D K q
S
y
L ^
*
*
C
š O
F
*
T
*
A
*
Y
B P Q & # Z O L W % M A D #
J
T Y H O E N U Q $
b
¶
* W *
S
N
*
L
F
F
» P
# D S
F
P
E O M T G #
M Q
A
*
E
*
*
b
*
F ¬
j
B U R P O L A W N D Z T Puzzles 42 and 43 use a very similar method of encryption: 42 Alice sends Tony the following cipher. Can you decode the message? 4786146
47225665
16 7845
27416378 92
38 4369
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
43 Amy, Pete and Tim have code numbers for five of their friends. Maya has the code number 9464 and Mae has the code number 541. Who has the following code numbers? 08004 5427 3594 44
T S 1 1 2
N
1 3 2 1
L H
A 4 2
E D
G
Find the message (3, 5, 3, 6 letters long) encrypted in the above arrangement of letters and numbers. 45 The times below are actually a coded message sent by a general to advise when a particular attack should take place. The attack is scheduled to take place at one of the times listed belowä—äbut which one? 19.20 18.09 11.05 01.20 08.15
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
46 A circus owner hires some thieves to carry out a robbery at the local zoo; however, the thieves do not know what they are meant to be stealing until they receive the following coded instruction: MAY GREY WITH COUGH TAPE When they have rearranged the words and decoded the message, they are not so sure they want to go through with the robbery. What are they meant to be stealing? 47 Thieves are planning another robbery at the concert hall. This time they received the following coded message telling them that the robbery will occur when the orchestra is playing a movement from a certain composition. When were the thieves instructed to make their strike? Mother very eagerly made sandwiches under no protest.
94
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
48
S K R O W T H T I
L
L
I
G A
H D D R 3
R E A
E W F O Y T
S
I
D Y L D N
E H T N O N U
I
S
E H T
E O Y T
S
A E
S
I
R A O
E U T E
S C
W C O E T D N U D N D E A C F O O R O H S L U D F
F
E
E R L H
E N E D M U R T
E T T D Y A R U M A N
E
P
S
A C H H
R N E
I
S M O N E H
E G R U E
I
S O M C L 5
L
I
T M B E R 1
6
P
S O F K
L H A M H A
I
L
5 O F
Decipher the above plaque which was found on a monument in a graveyard several hundred years ago.
95
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
49 A quiz show contestant is provided with a choice of keys numbered 1ä–ä50, only one of which will open the box containing the star prize. The only information he has available is the grid below. What number key should the contestant choose?
FR FON FIN OE ET
TN
SX TWE NE
SN
EN
FE
THN TE
TO SIN
50 Mission control was relieved to receive the following coded message from one of its astronauts who had been missing for some time. What was the message? EFASSDNADNUO
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
51 A golf professional has the coded message below pinned up behind the clubhouse door. Why is it so appropriate? first
raise
delight
dowry
lawn
therapy
charm
idyllic
pond
length
52 The children are planning a surprise party for their parents and pass round the following message to reveal when the party will take place. Can you decode it? Theresa, Robert, Peter, James, Olga, John, Maria, Anthony, Gavin, Olivia, Marcel, Ronald, Ruth, Andrew, Charles, Edward, Rebecca, Olive, Gordon, Roger, Philip, Wendy, Vincent. 53 Lisa receives the following message from her boyfriend. When she has decoded it she knows where he is taking her on their Saturday night date. Can you decode the message? DOME, MILE, LISA, TUNIC, BORN
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
54 Decode the following quotation: iii, 16 iii, 15 1, ii, 16, 16, ii, 14 16, iv 1, ii 9, iv, iv, 8, ii, 3 iv, 17, ii, 14 16, 6, i, 11 iv, 17, ii, 14, 9, iv, iv, 8, ii, 3 10, i, ii
18, ii, 15, 16
55 The newspaper headline below is actually a coded message to reveal the date of a forthcoming covert operation. On what date will the covert operation take place? CREEPY MAD SONS ENTOMBED
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
56 What message is encoded in the grid below?
T
v K v
T
H v N v G v
L
F
T H
G H T T
v
S
P
v R v
57 Decode the following message to discover the method of encryption. YDJX YISE TUJX UQBF XQRU JXQI RUUD CELU TKFJ UDFB QSUI RKJJ ESEC FBYS QJUC QJJU HIJX UCUI IQWU XQIR UUDT YLYT UTKF YDJE VEKH BUJJ UHSX KDAI.
Puzzles 58ä–ä60ä—äCryptocross In the following three puzzles, every letter has been substituted for another at random. Each crossword uses each of the 26 letters of the alphabet at least once each. Once you have solved each puzzle by entering the correct words in the blank grid, find an additional keyed word or phrase by entering the coded letters below the plain text letters in the grid provided.
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
58
I
P
J
I
D S N P P
X
M V A Z
T
Q
J
I
G
B
I
G Z
J
C
Q
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V
H
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J J
Y I
I D
S
B V
Y B G V D P J
B
A J
J B
T Z B V
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N
N
M J
K Y Q U I
G J
B
F
C Q X Q V Q G
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L G Q U
J
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A J
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Q X F A Z I
B
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J
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C
D
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G
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I
K
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S
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V W X
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Z
100
J
Codes and Cipher Puzzles
59
A N C
J
X
S
C Y L R Z N
V
Z G X A J
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T X S
T N R
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V
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R U D C H K G R
101
J
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
60
I
F R P H Y Y X K
B Q Z V L
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102
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
Level Threeä—äVery Challenging Puzzles 1 Decode the following, which is an instruction from the leader of the Daleks as to how it wishes them to deal with Dr Who, with immediate effect. 122, 789, 695, 131, 558, 562, 432, 239, 001, 947, 401. 2 Decode the message which is concealed in the grid below:
& P T L
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
The following two puzzles both use a similar method of encryption: 3 The following represents a secret security number. What is the number?
4 The cipher below is a request for assistance. What does it actually mean?
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5 The grid represents a keypad, complete with instructions. Which button should be pressed in order to open the safe?
L O W N E U X P A N S
A P M E
I
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N Q V C X O H N E R O L
L C
S
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D U
I
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B G B O T T O Z
S
I
E K W I
X P Q U A C E
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I
B H S
E R R B A C L
A T R H T T H G
O D Y H E Y
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S W H K D A
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P O W U T R E B C G
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N E O P L
I
L
A N E Y U
S
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E R P
R N G U Y Z U
Q W E R T Y K S
105
A L M D X
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
6
You must decipher the combination number displayed on the abacus above, the only information available being that the middle two digits are either 28 or 82. ä–ä – 28 – ä–ä or ä–ä – 82 – ä–ä
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
7 The Polybius cipher.
A B C D E F G H
I
J
K L M N O P Q R
S
T
U V W X Y This code was invented by a Greek writer, Polybius, in the second century BC. With the aid of the grid above, can you decode the quotation below? 11 53,24,14,15 44,13,43,15,15,34 33,11,31,15,44 11 12,11,14 21,24,32,33 45,53,24,13,15 11,44 12,11,14 44,11,33,51,15,32 22,35,32,14,53,55,34 8 The speculator instructs his stockbroker to buy shares in a certain company. His instructions are transmitted in the form of the coded message below. In what company should the stockbroker invest? 83423023 – 12345678
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
9 Three brothers, Paul, James and Charles, are being questioned about a crime. The detective hands his assistant the following grid, which indicates that only one of the brothers is the culprit. Which one?
S O N R T B Z Z X L R N U O E
L
L
F M N N Q W H M N
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E
I
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G N D U X T T N U D D D R N U S Y N E K H Z
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B D U
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
10 Agents are given code numbers, which they use when text messaging each other. SPOOK is 41332 BAGMAN is 211112 SWALLOW is 4113331 RAVEN is 31322 What number is MUSICIAN? 11 A bridegroom texts his bride with the surprise destination to which he is taking her on their honeymoon. The message he texts her is as follows. Where is he taking her on their honeymoon? cat, dog, ace, pie, hem, fog, axe, owe, tip, bun, spy, gap, hen, oak, cub, hay, red, tap, has, sea, duo, pen, add, hoe, fez, lid, yet. 12 Decode the following, then say what is particularly significant, some may say astonishing, about the message you have decoded, which is particularly relevant to Dan Brown’s book The Da Vinci Code. SZEV OLIW ZMW ZKLHGOVH RM KRXGFIV
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
13 Work out the system of encryption to find the hidden message in the grid below: S
G
H W R
S
M
B
E
F
Y
A
B
T
U
M N
E
O
A
N
I
J
N O
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D
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S
T
T
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P
H
I
L
F
N
I
J
N O
X
K
L
S
A
B
K
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E
F
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14 Pay extremely close attention to the instructions when decoding the following message: 35,57,8 1,72,36,18,48,51,5 65,43 2 9,3,43,19,46,36,40,60,37,70 13,36,69,18,56,37,7,49
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
15
2
5 3
2
2
The photographer receives the coded message above, which, once he has decoded it, he finds very confusing as it contains two very conflicting instructions. Can you work out the method of encryption to complete two very opposite instructions with the aid of the word lengths provided below? **** ***** ***** ***** *** ******
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
16 Decode the following optimistic message: LSAOR ITLES IJBFR ESWHE FUOCI 17 A gambler sends the message below to members of his syndicate, telling them that a coup is about to take place on a certain racehorse. What is the name of the racehorse? hatedä—äpieceä—äbakeä—äcave cartä—ätreeä—älateä—ätreat placeä—äbestä—äannulä—ärevel sinä—ämaleä—äinsectä—äcoy palmä—ädutyä—äcaresä—äcured salonä—äbuyä—äcasterä—äbat mealä—äreactä—äauntä—äamen flingä—äcanonä—äearä—äarm fendä—äbassä—äranä—ästar bedä—äsoreä—ämothä—äarea reelä—äblurä—äaleä—äcue angerä—äholyä—ämuchä—äbow caseä—äbondä—äsageä—äfor chatä—ästepä—äblowä—äbad
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
18 A gang are planning an audacious robbery at the Louvre in Paris. The code message below reveals which famous piece of classical artwork they are planning to steal. prizeä—äsolarä—äquoteä—ädevilä—äomegaä—änymphä—ämusicä— älunarä—ätruthä—ämedalä—äguess 19
U I I O C
N A
D N
F
I L
E N
T
C C
O M
M
A T
I O
N When messages of an extremely secret nature are sent from one secret agent to another the envelopes always contain the above sticker. What does it mean?
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20 The following was composed as a memorial to Queen Elizabeth I. What secret meaning does it reveal? MY DAY CLOSED IN IMMORTALITY 21 Decode this difficult cryptogram in which a few letters may be represented by more than one number (e.g. the letter E is represented by the numbers 20, 25 and 28), then follow the instructions which are part of the coded message. 7 17,7,26,12,22,7,16 3,13 7 13,20,26,18,20,26,4,20 18,19,7,18 4,23,26,31,7,3,26,13 20,27,20,22,9 29,25,18,18,25,22 23,21 18,19,20 7,29,17,19,7,10,20,18, 21,23,22 20,8,7,16,17,29,28, 14,3,26,8,20,30 5,12,10 13,17,9 6,3,18,19 1,2,7,29,16,13 4,23,27,20,22,13 21,20,24. 7,22,22,7,26,12,20 18,19,20 29,20,18,18,20,22,13 3,26 18,19,20 12,22,3,30 10,20,29,23,6 18,23 22,20,27,20,7,29 7 21,11,22,31,19,25,22 17,7,26,12,22,7,16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 E 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 E E
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
22 Agents are given code names based on the names of intellectual renaissance scholars of the thirteenth and fourteenth centuries. An agent with such a code name must identify himself by entering a restaurant at an appointed time and ordering the correct item from the menu below. What is the agent’s name? Fig pudding and sauce Vindaloo and rice Lobster pâté and French fries Milk pudding Mushroom casserole Chop suey and crackers 23 Decode the following, which is a message that will strike dread into most computer users: 2-1,1-2,4-1,6-3,8-1,6-3,5-2ä—ä5-1,6-2,8-1,2-2 3-1,7-3,1-2,8-1,9-2 3-3,9-1,6-3,5-1,1-2,8-1,6-3,2-2 1-2 4-3,8-1,4-1,7-1,2-2
115
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
24 Ben, the cook, leaves a secret message as to where he wishes to meet his lover Val, the maid, during a quiet moment at the manor house. Can you decode the message to find where the secret liaison will take place? art, pat, bead, both, Ben, hop, Val 25 A secret location where some nuclear testing is to take place is hidden in the grid below. What is the secret location?
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
26 What phrase is hidden below? RSNEREIKPDAFGNOMDMRDYFOHEPNTDSRKATH MTRFAKDNOLPXRTLMZFQNFTHLOZIDRYTMNJS FALD 27
A B C D E F G H
I
J
K L M N O P Q R
S
T
U V W X Y Decode the following with the aid of the grid above: B4ä—äD5 B4ä—äD4 C4ä—äC5ä—äD5 D5ä—äB3ä—äA5 C3ä—äC5ä—äE1ä—äC4ä—äD5ä—äA1ä—äB4ä—äC4 E3ä—äA5 A3ä—äC5ä—äC4ä—äD2ä—äE1ä—äA5ä—äD3 A2ä—äE1ä—äD5 C5ä—äE1ä— äD3ä—äD4ä—äA5ä—äC2ä—äE2ä—äA5ä—äD4. D4ä—äB4ä—äD3 A5ä—äA4ä—äC3ä—äE1ä—äC4ä—äA4 B3ä—äB4ä—äC2ä—äC2ä—äA1ä—äD3ä—äE5
117
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
28 The lovers are planning a romantic trip to Turkey. What method of transport will they use, which is encoded in the grid below?
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
29 A secret tape has been hidden, in one of the food items below, in a bakery: Chocolate éclair Xmas pudding Plum pie Bakewell tart The agent must pick up the correct item of food at an appointed time, and to enable him to make the correct choice is sent the cryptogram below: HQD L AHQD J CSNKP PUTPOOLHE, LH SLIIPH DQCIY JHI KJELT YWPOOLHE, DCJHEOPCY WPCSJWY IPWOQCLHE, BQC KP LMY HQHYPHYP LYH’M FQCLHE. After decoding the cryptogram he realized, after some thought, in which item of food the tape was hidden, and he also realized that, as it happens, he hadn’t really needed to decode the cryptogram at all to discover the hiding place. In which item was the tape hidden?
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30 James Bond knew that he had to go to a certain US state urgently when he received the following cipher. To which state was he being instructed to go? 782 154 6119 31 389986788 31 What short romantic message is concealed below? Paris, roses, India, romance, heart, amour, Lima, France, award, Oscar, honeymoon, Victor, joy, passion, echo, Spain, uniform, wedding, springtime. 32 Find a quotation by Mark Twain encoded in the list of words below: howl, each, flag, once, duet, arch, bask, same, aunt, lost, paid, chic, soil, best, oboe, keen, slot, fate, seek, bare, etch, shah, loaf, once, maid, bath, base, soon, hour, envy, hide, plus. 33 The type of puzzle known as ‘alphametics’, in which the numerals of arithmetical calculations are replaced by letters, originated thousands of years ago in ancient China, where it was known as ‘letter arithmetic’. Then, in the 1950s, the name ‘cryptarithm’ was proposed and, in 1955, the word ‘alphametic’ was coined by J. A. H. Hunter. In perfect alphametics, related words are used
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Codes and Cipher Puzzles
and each letter in the words leads to the same number in a unique solution, e.g: G N O M E ! P I X I E # E L F I N leads to the solution: 14397 ! 60807 # 75204 In the code below, which is based on the alphametics puzzle, it is necessary to solve the alphametic and then replace numbers in the cipher from corresponding letters in the puzzle’s solution, which we will suppose was sent from a US medical team to their UK associates and caused great excitement when received by the British researchers. C E L L A R ! M U R D E R ! C L E R I C # C L E A R E D 6
1381462
9074162
9436120
121
1830
1264907
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
34 Decode the following substitution cryptogram and discover what relevance this has to the method of encryption: ZIT YOCT WGBOFU VOMQKRL PXDH JXOEASN 35 Mother gave this very difficult code to her two sons to try and crack prior to a day out she has arranged for them. Only the letters A, E, F, G, I, L, M, N, O and R have been used in the substitution, therefore, in the encryption the same letter may be used to represent different letters of the alphabet, e.g. as a starting point the letter G is used to represent the letters E, L and Y. When the message has been decoded and the code text is arranged in juxtaposition to the plain text it will provide a clue to where mother is taking her family for their day out. LRFOLGF LAG FAOA LRAGGLIGG IAFGRNFä—äLAGG LFE RI LAGFLFIRF, LAGG LLFF RI OAFLFOFFOF RGIARG GGFIL Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: G G G
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3 Famous Codes and Ciphers The Enigma Code The Enigma code machine, which resembled a portable typewriter in a wooden box, was developed in Germany in the early 1920s by Dr Arthur Scherbius, for the commercial purpose of finding companies who were interested in securing their communications by encryption. By 1926 the German navy had produced its own version, followed in 1928 by the army and in 1933 by the air force. As a result, Germany possessed the most advance cipher system in the world by the outbreak of World War II. The Enigma machine had from three to five notched wheels or rotorsä—äreferred to as ‘scramblers’ä—äeach of which contained the 26 letters of the alphabet, which created 17,576 possible keys. The scramblers could be positioned in any order and a plug board at the front of the keyboard allowed any six letters of plain text to be exchanged with any six others. By increasing the number of settings in this way, a virtually unbreakable code with a possible 150 million variations was created. To further complicate matters, at least once a day the Germans changed the order of the rotors, their 123
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
The Enigma code machine. Courtesy of NSA/Wikipedia starting positions and the plug board connections. To decipher a message sent using Enigma, it was necessary for the receiver to know the exact settings of the rotors in order to reconstitute the coded text. Britain and her allies first became aware of the problems posed by the Enigma machine in 1931 after a German spy, Hans Thilo Schmidt, allowed the French to photograph stolen Enigma operating manuals; however, neither French nor British cryptanalysts could make any progress in breaking the Enigma cipher. Eventually, a breakthrough did occur in the 1930s, when experts at the Polish Cipher Bureau, helped by their closer links to the German engineering industry, were able to reconstruct an Enigma machine, complete with internal wiring, and secretly began to try to crack the code, their persistence paying dividends when Marian Rejewski, a Polish 124
Famous Codes and Ciphers
cryptographer, noticed patterns in the cipher text created by the original settings of the scrambler. Just before the outbreak of war in 1939, and with the German invasion imminent, the Poles opted to share their secret and managed to pass models and drawings of Enigma to British and French code-breakers. This led British Intelligence, in 1939, to set up the top secret Ultra project at Britain’s Government Code and Cipher School (GC & CS) at Bletchley Park, Buckinghamshire, which was devoted to breaking the Enigma code. A large team of mathematicians, linguists, cryptographers and general problem-solvers were recruited, led by William Winterbottom of MI6, and a bank of early computers known as ‘bombes’, a refinement of the machine originally built by Marian Rejewski (and named after his favourite ice-cream), were built to work out the vast number of permutations in the English language. Eventually the ciphers were cracked and at the height of the war, unknown to the Germans, the Allies were intercepting and deciphering 2000 German signals daily. Even so, the work of the Ultra team remained frantic as the Germans frequently changed the settings of their Enigma machines’ wheels. Only a select few were made aware of the work being carried out at Bletchley Park and any information had to remain top secret to prevent the Germans, who believed their encrypted communications were impenetrable, from having any inkling that their ciphers had been broken. As a result of Germany’s belief in the code’s infallibility, the Allies were able to intercept information that was crucial in the Allied landing in the Normandy campaign (the D-Day landings) and it is believed that the success achieved by the Bletchley Park team may have shortened World War II by at least two years. 125
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Among the team at Bletchley Park was Commander Ian Fleming, Personal Assistant to the Director of Naval Intelligence and subsequent author of the ‘James Bond’ novels, and the British mathematician Alan Mathison Turing. It is Turing who is credited with the distinction of initially breaking the Enigma cipher and of bringing science to cryptography.
The Rosetta Stone Egyptian hieroglyphics is one of the oldest scripts in the world and was in use for almost 3500 years. The Greeks first named Egyptian script ta hieroglyphica or ‘sacred carved’ letters. The hieroglyphic script is mostly pictorial and consists of familiar images of natural and man-made objects. Less than 1000 hieroglyphs were in general use at any one time, except in the Late Period (712ä–ä332 BC), when the number climbed to 6000. Virtually all understanding of how to read Egyptian
The Rosetta Stone. © Matijap/Wikipedia 126
Famous Codes and Ciphers
hieroglyphics had been lost since the fourth century AD until 1799, a year after a French soldier, while working at a fort on the Rosetta branch of the River Nile, found a black basalt stone slab carved with inscriptions. This stone slab became known as the ‘Rosetta Stone’ and was to prove the key to deciphering Egyptian hieroglyphics. The Rosetta Stone (which is now in the British Museum) contains writing, carved in 196 BC, in two languages, Egyptian and Greek, using three scripts; hieroglyphics at the top, demotic (a late cursive form of hieroglyphics) in the middle and Greek at the bottom. It is written in three scripts because, when it was inscribed, there were three scripts being used in Egypt: hieroglyphics, which was the script used for important or religious documents; demotic, which was the common script of Egypt; and Greek, which was the language of the rulers of Egypt at that time. It was therefore inscribed in all three scripts so that the priests, government officials and rulers of Egypt could all read what it said. The translation of the passage in Greek reveals that the Rosetta Stone was written by a group of priests in Egypt and is a royal edict issued in March 196 BC to honour the 13 year-old Egyptian pharaoh Ptolemy V Epiphanes, by listing all of the things that the pharaoh had done that were good for the priests and the people of Egypt at the time of his coronation. As this Greek inscription is a translation of the upper two Egyptian passages it is this that provided the key to deciphering ancient hieroglyphics, whose meaning had been lost for several hundred years. After many years of studying the Rosetta Stone and other examples of ancient Egyptian writing, it was the French 127
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
scholar Jean-François Champollion who was finally able to decipher hieroglyphs in 1822. Champollion had begun his work on the Rosetta Stone inscriptions in 1808 at the age of 18 and he was finally able to announce his results in a letter to the French Royal Academy in 1822, in which he explained the basic concepts of the hieroglyphic script. Champollion, who could read both Greek and Coptic, based his approach to deciphering hieroglyphs on three assumptions: 1. 2.
3.
The later Egyptian Coptic script represented the final stage of the ancient language of the pharaohs. Hieroglyphs were used both as pictures that represent a concept or thing (known as ‘ideograms’) and as pictures that represent sounds (known as ‘phonograms’). Hieroglyphs enclosed in an oval-shaped loop encircling a group of hieroglyphs (known as a ‘cartouche’) were phonetic transcriptions of the pharaohs’ names.
From this, Champollion was able to figure out what the seven demotic signs in coptic were. By looking at how these signs were used in coptic, he was able to work out what they stood for. Then he began tracing these demotic signs back to hieroglyphic signs. Hieroglyphic inscriptions were usually written in rows from right to left or in columns top to bottom, but sometimes appear written from left to right to create a more pleasing visual effect. It is possible to tell which way to read an inscription by looking at the direction in which animals or people face or walk (they always face toward the beginning of the line). The lack of punctuation or spaces between words or sentences makes hieroglyphs particularly difficult to read. 128
Famous Codes and Ciphers
As in the case of modern Arabic and Hebrew, only the consonants of words are written down. So, for example, the word ‘CREEK’ would be spelled in hieroglyphs as ‘CRK’. However, this combination of signs could also spell other words, e.g. ‘CROOK’ or ‘CROAK’. In order to show the difference between similar words, the Egyptians added signs called determinatives to avoid confusion and give specific meaning to a particular word. To indicate ‘CRK’ as ‘CREEK’, for example, the determinative for water would be placed at the end of the word.
The Lincoln Cipher Abraham Lincoln had a simple cipher that he used frequently. To make the message audible, all you had to do was read it aloud rapidly from the last word to the first word while paying attention to the sounds of the words instead of their meanings. One such message ended: ... AUNT CONFIDE IS ANDY EVACUATE PETERSBURG REPORTS GRANT MORNING THIS WASHINGTON SEC’Y WAR. Decoded, this reads: WAR SECRETARY WASHINGTON THIS MORNING GRANT REPORTS PETERSBURG EVACUATED AND HE IS CONFIDENT. 129
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
Simple enough to decode perhaps; but the message that follows was sent to the Aquia Creek headquarters of Major General Burnside on 25 November 1862. It was intercepted by a confederate operator but was not deciphered by him. Burnside replied in a similar cipher which also got through unbroken. At the subsequent meeting, held on the steamer Baltimore, a plan was developed which cost Lee thousands of lives three weeks later. Can you decipher the message? Note that ‘flesh’ was a word commonly used in those days instead of meat. WASHINGTON DC NOVEMBER 26, 1862 BURNSIDE, FALMOUTH, VIRGINIA; CANN INN ALE ME WITH 2 OAR OUR ANN PASS ME FLESH ENDS N.V. CORN INN OUT WITH U CUD INN HEAVEN DAY NEST WED ROE MOORE TOM DARKEY HAT GREEK WHY HAWK OF ABBOT INN B CHEWED I IF. BATES
Psalm 46 046:001 046:002
046:003
God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; Though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof. Selah. 130
Famous Codes and Ciphers
046:004
046:005 046:006
046:007 046:008 046:009
046:010 046:011
There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the most High. God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved: God shall help her, and that right early. The heathen raged, the kingdoms were moved: he uttered his voice, the earth melted. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah. Come, behold the works of the LORD, what desolations he hath made in the earth. He maketh wars to cease unto the end of the earth; he breaketh the bow, and cutteth the spear in sunder; he burneth the chariot in the fire. Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth. The LORD of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah.
The above is the 46th Psalm from the King James version of the New Testament. In it there is either a possibly coded reference to the playwright William Shakespeare, or a remarkable coincidence. Whether this is code or coincidence has prompted fierce debate during the past few years, since mention of this curiosity was made by Anthony Burgess in his autobiography, You’ve Had Your Time. Shakespeare was baptized on 26 April 1564. The Authorized Version was being revised by a team of commissioned writers in 1610, by which time Shakespeare would have been 46 years 131
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
old. The committee in charge of revising the initial translation was headed by John Bois and Dr Anthony Downes, who had also coordinated the initial team of 47 translators. There is no record that Shakespeare was among the chosen 47, neither is he credited as one of the revisers; in fact, nothing is known to exist that links him to the Authorized Version revision, except time and place. However, in the King James version of Psalm 46, if you count 46 words down from the top, you find the word shake, and counting 46 words up from the bottom, you will find the word spear (ignoring the word ‘Selah’, which appears throughout the Bible as a type of musical punctuation; indeed, it appears three time in Psalm 46, always at the end of a verse). If this is more than a coincidence, and is in fact a coded reference to William Shakespeare, there are two possible explanations. The first explanation is that Shakespeare himself was one of the writers who were commissioned to work on the King James version of the New Testament and decided to personalise his work on the 46th Psalm. The second explanation is that someone who knew Shakespeare, or admired his work, decided to insert the words SHAKE and SPEAR as a tribute to Shakespeare in his 46th year.
The Beale Ciphers Since 1845 many people have devoted a great deal of their time trying to break what has become known as the Beale Ciphers in an attempt to find the whereabouts of several tons 132
Famous Codes and Ciphers
of gold, silver and jewels supposedly buried near the town of Montvale (formally Bufords), Virginia, USA. It was a Virginian, Thomas J. Beale, who set out with a party of men in 1817 on a hunting trip which eventually took them towards the Colorado mountains. Here they discovered gold, and stayed on to mine both gold and silver for 18 months. Then, in November 1819, fearing for their safety and their vast fortune, they returned to Virginia to hide their treasure in a secret excavation six feet below ground. Two years later they again returned to the site with some $13,000 in jewels, which they had purchased in St. Louis. During this time, Tom Beale had become acquainted with Robert Morriss, the proprietor of a hotel where Beale had stayed. Beale entrusted to Morriss a strong iron box for safe keeping. Later he wrote to Morriss, asking him to keep the box for 10 years, telling him that if he had not by then called to collect it, he should open it up. Beale was never heard of again, but for whatever reason, Morriss waited for almost 25 years before eventually opening the box, in 1845. Inside he found several sheets of paper and letters telling the story of the treasure, together with three ciphers giving details of the location of the treasure, its contents and Beale’s next of kin. One letter promised that the three ciphers could be easily cracked using a key which would be sent to Morriss, but which never arrived. Since Morriss could not crack the ciphers, and as he was nearing the end of his life, he enlisted the help of a friend who became obsessed with them and, after 20 years, was finally able to crack one of the ciphers, the one that, tantalisingly, listed the contents of the vault of treasure. He 133
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
discovered that the cipher is what is known as a book code and the method Beale had used was to take the Declaration of Independence and allocate each word a number, from the opening word WHEN # 1 to the closing word HONOR # 1322.
The Opening of the Declaration of Independence Whenä1ä , inä2 theä3 courseä4 ofä ä5 human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the laws of nature and of nature’s God entitle themä50ä , a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation. We holdä73 these truths to be selfevident, and that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these areä100 life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness; That to secure these rights, governments are institutedä115 among men ... By taking the first letter of the word which corresponded to each number of the cipher, the message was spelled out. For example, the first number in the sequence is 115; the 115th letter of the Declaration is ‘instituted’, which begins with the letter I, hence the number 115 represents the letter I. The second number in the sequence is 73; the 73rd word in the Declaration is ‘hold’, which begins with the letter H, Hence, the number 73 represents the letter H. 134
Famous Codes and Ciphers
By continuing this process: 115 (I) 73 (H), 24 (A), 807 (V), 37 (E), 52 (D), 49 (E), 17 (P), 31 (O), 62 (S), 647 (I), 22 (T) ... and so on, the following message is revealed: I have deposited in the county of Bedford, about four miles from Bufords, in an excavation or vault, six feet below the surface of the ground, the following articles: ... The deposit consists of two thousand nine hundred and twenty one pounds of gold and five thousand one hundred pounds of silver; also jewels, obtained in St. Louis in exchange for silver to save transportation ... The above is securely packed in iron pots, with iron covers. The vault is roughly lined with stone, and the vessels rest on solid stone, and are covered with others ... Since then, despite the possibility that this whole story may be an elaborate hoax, many thousands of hours of research and effort have taken place. However, the remaining two ciphers remain unsolved and no treasure has been found. The complete Beale Ciphers are reproduced in the following pages.
Text for Part 1: The Locality of the Vault 71,194,38,1701,89,76,11,83,1629,48,94,63,132,16,111, 95,84,341975,14,40,64,27,81,139,213,63,90,1120,8,15,3,126, 2018,40,74758,485,604,230,436,664,582,150,251, 284,308,231,124,211,486,225401,370,11,101,305,139, 189,17,33,88,208,193,145,1,94,73,416918,263,28,500, 538,356,117,136,219,27,176,130,10,460,25,485,18436, 135
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
65,84,200,283,118,320,138,36,416,280,15,71,224,961, 44,16,40139,88,61,304,12,21,24,283,134,92,63,246,486, 682,7,219,184,360,78018,64,463,474,131,160,79,73,440, 95,18,64,581,34,69,128,367,460,1781,12,103,820,62,110, 97,103,862,70,60,1317,471,540,208,121,890346,36,150, 59,568,614,13,120,63,219,812,2160,1780,99,35,18,21, 136872,15,28,170,88,4,30,44,112,18,147,436,195,320,37, 122,113,6,1408,120,305,42,58,461,44,106,301,13,408,680, 93,86,116,530,82,568,9102,38,416,89,71,216,728,965,818, 2,38,121,195,14,326,148,234,1855,131,234,361,824,5,81, 623,48,961,19,26,33,10,1101,365,92,88,181275,346,201, 206,86,36,219,324,829,840,64,326,19,48,122,85,216, 284919,861,326,985,233,64,68,232,431,960,50,29,81,216, 321,603,14,61281,360,36,51,62,194,78,60,200,314,676,112, 4,28,18,61,136,247,819921,1060,464,895,10,6,66,119,38,41, 49,602,423,962,302,294,875,7814,23,111,109,62,31,501, 823,216,280,34,24,150,1000,162,286,19,2117,340,19,242, 31,86,234,140,607,115,33,191,67,104,86,52,88,16,80121, 67,95,122,216,548,96,11,201,77,364,218,65,667,890,236, 154,21110,98,34,119,56,216,119,71,218,1164,1496,1817, 51,39,210,36,3,19540,232,22,141,617,84,290,80,46,207, 411,150,29,38,46,172,85,19439,261,543,897,624,18,212, 416,127,931,19,4,63,96,12,101,418,16,140230,460,538, 19,27,88,612,1431,90,716,275,74,83,11,426,89,72, 841300,1706,814,221,132,40,102,34,868,975,1101,84, 16,79,23,16,81,122324,403,912,227,936,447,55,86,34, 43,212,107,96,314,264,1065,323428,601,203,124,95, 216,814,2906,654,820,2,301,112,176,213,71,87,96202, 35,10,2,41,17,84,221,736,820,214,11,60,760
136
Famous Codes and Ciphers
Text for Part 2: Contents (Solved) 115,73,24,807,37,52,49,17,31,62,647,22,7,15,140,47,29,107, 79,8456,239,10,26,811,5,196,308,85,52,160,136,59,211,36, 9,46,316,554122,106,95,53,58,2,42,7,35,122,53, 31,82,77,250,196,56,96,118,71140,287,28,353,37,1005, 65,147,807,24,3,8,12,47,43,59,807,45,316101,41,78,154, 1005,122,138,191,16,77,49,102,57,72,34,73,85,35, 37159,196,81,92,191,106,273,60,394,620,270,220,106, 388,287,63,3,6191,122,43,234,400,106,290,314,47,48, 81,96,26,115,92,158,191,11077,85,197,46,10,113,140, 353,48,120,106,2,607,61,420,811,29,125,1420,37,105, 28,248,16,159,7,35,19,301,125,110,486,287,98,117,511, 6251,220,37,113,140,807,138,540,8,44,287,388,117,18, 79,344,34,20,59511,548,107,603,220,7,66,154,41,20,50,6, 575,122,154,248,110,61,52,3330,5,38,8,14,84,57,540, 217,115,71,29,84,63,43,131,29,138,47,73,239540,52,53,79, 118,51,44,63,196,12,239,112,3,49,79,353,105,56,371, 557211,505,125,360,133,143,101,15,284,540,252,14, 205,140,344,26,811,138115,48,73,34,205,316,607,63, 220,7,52,150,44,52,16,40,37,158,807,37121,12,95,10,15, 35,12,131,62,115,102,807,49,53,135,138,30,31,62,67, 4185,63,10,106,807,138,8,113,20,32,33,37,353,287,140,47, 85,50,37,49,4764,6,7,71,33,4,43,47,63,1,27,600,208, 230,15,191,246,85,94,511,2,27020,39,7,33,44,22,40,7, 10,3,811,106,44,486,230,353,211,200,31,10,38140,297, 61,603,320,302,666,287,2,44,33,32,511,548,10,6,250, 557,24653,37,52,83,47,320,38,33,807,7,44,30,31,250,10,15, 35,106,160,113,31102,406,230,540,320,29,66,33,101,807, 138,301,316,353,320,220,37,5228,540,320,33,8,48, 137
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
107,50,811,7,2,113,73,16,125,11,110,67,102,807,3359, 81,158,38,43,581,138,19,85,400,38,43,77,14,27,8,47, 138,63,140,4435,22,177,106,250,314,217,2,10,7,1005,4,20, 25,44,48,7,26,46,110,230807,191,34,112,147,44,110,121, 125,96,41,51,50,140,56,47,152,54063,807,28,42, 250,138,582,98,643,32,107,140,112,26,85,138,540,53, 20125,371,38,36,10,52,118,136,102,420,150,112,71,14, 20,7,24,18,12,80737,67,110,62,33,21,95,220,511,102, 811,30,83,84,305,620,15,2,108,220106,353,105,106,60, 275,72,8,50,205,185,112,125,540,65,106,807,188,96, 11016,73,32,807,150,409,400,50,154,285,96,106,316, 270,205,101,811,400,844,37,52,40,241,34,205,38,16,46,47, 85,24,44,15,64,73,138,807,85,78,11033,420,505,53, 37,38,22,31,10,110,106,101,140,15,38,3,5,44,7,98, 287135,150,96,33,84,125,807,191,96,511,118,440,370, 643,466,106,41,107603,220,275,30,150,105,49,53,287, 250,208,134,7,53,12,47,85,63,138,11021,112,140,485, 486,505,14,73,84,575,1005,150,200,16,42,5,4,25,428,16, 811,125,160,32,205,603,807,81,96,405,41,600,136,14, 20,28,26353,302,246,8,131,160,140,84,440,42,16,811, 40,67,101,102,194,138205,51,63,241,540,122,8,10,63, 140,47,48,140,288
Text for Part 3: Names and Residences 317,8,92,73,112,89,67,318,28,96,107,41,631,78,146,397, 118,98114,246,348,116,74,88,12,65,32,14,81,19,76,121, 216,85,33,66,15108,68,77,43,24,122,96,117,36,211,301, 15,44,11,46,89,18,136,68317,28,90,82,304,71,43,221, 198,176,310,319,81,99,264,380,56,37319,2,44,53,28,44, 138
Famous Codes and Ciphers
75,98,102,37,85,107,117,64,88,136,48,154,99,17589, 315,326,78,96,214,218,311,43,89,51,90,75,128,96,33,28, 103,8465,26,41,246,84,270,98,116,32,59,74,66,69,240, 15,8,121,20,77,8031,11,106,81,191,224,328,18,75,52,82, 117,201,39,23,217,27,21,8435,54,109,128,49,77,88,1,81, 217,64,55,83,116,251,269,311,96,54,32120,18,132,102, 219,211,84,150,219,275,312,64,10,106,87,75,47,2129, 37,81,44,18,126,115,132,160,181,203,76,81,299,314, 337,351,96,1128,97,318,238,106,24,93,3,19,17,26,60,73, 88,14,126,138,234,286297,321,365,264,19,22,84,56,107, 98,123,111,214,136,7,33,45,40,1328,46,42,107,196,227, 344,198,203,247,116,19,8,212,230,31,6,32865,48,52,59,41, 122,33,117,11,18,25,71,36,45,83,76,89,92,31,65, 7083,96,27,33,44,50,61,24,112,136,149,176,180,194, 143,171,205,29687,12,44,51,89,98,34,41,208,173,66,9, 35,16,95,8,113,175,90,56203,19,177,183,206,157,200, 218,260,291,305,618,951,320,18,124,7865,19,32,124,48, 53,57,84,96,207,244,66,82,119,71,11,86,77,213,5482, 316,245,303,86,97,106,212,18,37,15,81,89,16,7,81,39, 96,14,43216,118,29,55,109,136,172,213,64,8,227,304, 611,221,364,819,375128,296,1,18,53,76,10,15,23,19,71, 84,120,134,66,73,89,96,230,4877,26,101,127,936,218, 439,178,171,61,226,313,215,102,18,167,262114,218,66, 59,48,27,19,13,82,48,162,119,34,127,139,34,128,129, 7463,120,11,54,61,73,92,180,66,75,101,124,265,89,96, 126,274,896,917434,461,235,890,312,413,328,381,96, 105,217,66,118,22,77,64,42,127,55,24,83,67,97,109,121, 135,181,203,219,228,256,21,34,77,319,374382,675,684, 717,864,203,4,18,92,16,63,82,22,46,55,69,74,112, 134186,175,119,213,416,312,343,264,119,186,218,343, 139
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
417,845,951,124209,49,617,856,924,936,72,19,28,11,35,42, 40,66,85,94,112,65,82115,119,233,244,186,172,112, 85,6,56,38,44,85,72,32,47,63,96,124217,314,319,221, 644,817,821,934,922,416,975,10,22,18,46,137,181101, 39,86,103,116,138,164,212,218,296,815,380,412,460, 495,675,820952
England Expects England expects that every man will do his duty. England 253
Expects 269
That 863
Every 261
Man 471
Will 958
Do 220
His 370
D 4
u 21
t 19
y 24
140
Famous Codes and Ciphers
Lord Nelson’s famous signal, ‘England expects that every man will do his duty’, was sent to the fleet at the outbreak of the Battle of Trafalgar, on the day that Nelson gained his greatest victory, against the combined French and Spanish fleets. During the battle Nelson was mortally wounded on his flagship HMS Victory. The signal, which was displayed in an arrangement of flags atop the masts of HMS Victory, used the marine flag code devised by Sir Home Popham in 1803. Each combination of flags relates to a separate word in the Admiralty code book, as indicated above by the numbers at the top of each masthead. The word ‘duty’ was not listed in the book, so it had to be spelled out letter by letter.
The Playfair Cipher The Playfair cipher was invented in 1854 by Sir Charles Wheatstone, who named it after his friend Lyon Playfair, the first Baron Playfair of St. Andrews, who promoted and popularised the cipher. Because of its simplicity and difficulty of decryption, it became an immediate success as a field cipher in war-time and was first used by the British in the Boer War and again in the First World War. It was also used as a back-up cipher in the Second World War, where it was used effectively by a future US president, the young Lt. John F. Kennedy, when his PT-109 was sunk by a Japanese cruiser in the Solomon Islands. He was able to reach shore on Japanese-controlled Plum Pudding Island, from where he was able to send an emergency message encrypted in the Playfair cipher, from an 141
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
Allied coast-watcher’s hut, to arrange the rescue of survivors from his crew.
E N C R Y P T
I
O A
B D F G H K L M Q S U V W X Z To encipher a message in Playfair, select a keyword, e.g. ENCRYPTION, and write it in a 5 " 5 square as above, omitting repeated letters (the letter N in the above example), followed by the remaining letters in alphabetical order. The letter J is omitted in the above grid, as in the Playfair cipher the letters I and J are treated as being the same letter. The word may, however, be written in other patterns, e.g. in columns not rows, for the purpose of the encryption. The next stage is to prepare a message for encryption. For the purposes of this example, the message is: DECODE THIS MESSAGE. The message is then broken up into two-letter groups as below. Note that when two consecutive letters appear in the message, it is necessary to insert the letter X between them, and in the event of just one letter remaining in the last group add an X to the end. DE
CO
DE
TH
IS
ME 142
SX
SA
GE
Famous Codes and Ciphers
To encrypt each two-letter group, find each pair of letters in the square and locate the letters at opposite corners of the rectangle they form. For example, the letters D and E are located in the square, forming the following rectangle, with the letters B and N at opposite corners: E
N
P
T
B
D
Replace DE with those letters, starting with the letter on the same row as the first letter of the pair: DE becomes BN. This process is thus continued with each pair of letters: DE BN
CO RI
DE BN
TH AD
IS AM
ME KC
SX QZ
SA
GE
As the encryption continues, it will be noted that the letters S and A appear in the same column. In this case select the letters immediately below each letter, in this case Z and H. This same rule also applies for letters in the same line, where the letters to the right of each letter are selected. In the event of both letters being consecutive in each row or column, use the letter immediately to the right, or below each pair of letters; thus, if WR appears in a line containing the letters AFWRT, the encoding of WR becomes TR. 143
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
By continuing in this manner, the encoding is completed as follows: DE BN
CO RI
DE BN
TH AD
IS AM
ME KC
SX QZ
SA ZH
GE BR
The Playfair cipher is an extremely difficult code to decipher without knowledge of the keyword selected in the encryption process.
144
4 Answers and Explanations 1 Level Oneä—äStandard Cryptograms 1 Television has done much for psychiatry by spreading information about it, as well as contributing to the need for it. Alfred Hitchcock 2 Outside of a dog, a book is a man’s best friend. Inside of a dog it’s too dark to read. Groucho Marx 3 I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by. Douglas Adams 4 Anyone can do any amount of work provided it isn’t the work he is supposed to be doing at the moment. Robert Benchley 5 Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. Thomas Alva Edison 145
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
6 Economics is extremely useful as a form of employment for economists. John Kenneth Galbraith 7 The trouble with being punctual is that nobody’s there to appreciate it. Franklin P. Jones 8 If I have seen farther than others, it is because I was standing on the shoulders of giants. Isaac Newton 9 Computers make it easier to do a lot of things, but most of the things they make it easier to do don’t need to be done. Andy Rooney 10 It is of interest to note that while some dolphins are reported to have learned English – up to fifty words in correct order – no human being has been reported to have learned Dolphinese. Carl Sagan 11 Sometimes I think the surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that none of it has tried to contact us. Bill Watterson
146
Answers and Explanations
12 The scientific theory I like best is that the rings of Saturn are composed entirely of lost airline luggage. Mark Russell 13 Last night I dreamed I ate a ten-pound marshmallow – when I woke up the pillow was gone. Tommy Cooper 14 Fashion is something that goes in one year and out the other. Unknown 15 It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle 16 An intellectual snob is someone who can listen to the William Tell overture and not think of the Lone Ranger. Dan Rather 17 Democracy means government by discussion, but it is only effective if you can stop people talking. Clement Atlee 18 If the world should blow itself up, the last audible voice would be that of an expert saying it can’t be done. Peter Ustinov
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
19 Wise men talk because they have something to say, fools because they have to say something. Plato 20 Nobody knows the age of the human race, but everybody agrees that it is old enough to know better. Anonymous 21 If there are two or more ways to do something, and one of these ways can result in a catastrophe, then someone will do it. Edward A. Murphy Jr 22 You only have power over people so long as you don’t take everything away from them. But when you’ve robbed a man of everything, he’s no longer in your power – he’s free again. Alexander Solzhenitsyn 23 A lot of fellows nowadays have a B.A., M.D. or Ph.D. Unfortunately they don’t have a J.O.B. Fats Domino 24 Do not condemn the judgement of another because it differs from your own. You may both be wrong. Dandemis 25 Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana. Groucho Marx
148
Answers and Explanations
26 I stopped believing in Santa Claus when my mother took me to see him in a department store, and he asked for my autograph. Shirley Temple 27 I don’t want any yes-men around me. I want everybody to tell me the truth even if it costs them their jobs. Samuel Goldwyn 28 Middle age is when you’ve met so many people that every new person you meet reminds you of someone else. Ogden Nash 29 The place of the father in the modern suburban family is a very small one, particularly if he plays golf. Bertrand Russell 30 We don’t know a millionth of one percent about anything. Thomas Alva Edison 31 The remarkable thing about Shakespeare is that he really is very good, in spite of all the people who say he is very good. Robert Graves 32 Life is what happens when you are making other plans. John Lennon
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
33 Arithmetic is being able to count up to twenty without taking off your shoes. Mickey Mouse 34 Mars is essentially in the same orbit. Mars is somewhere the same distance from the sun, which is very important. We have seen pictures where there are canals, we believe, and water. If there is water, that means there is oxygen. If oxygen, that means we can breathe. Dan Quayle 35 Too bad the only people who know how to run the country are busy driving cabs and cutting hair. George Burns 36 To invent, you need a good imagination and a pile of junk. Thomas Alva Edison 37 There are worse things in life than death. Have you ever spent an evening with an insurance salesman? Woody Allen 38 The man who reads nothing at all is better educated than the man who reads nothing but newspapers. Thomas Jefferson 39 The hardest thing in the world to understand is the income tax. Albert Einstein 150
Answers and Explanations
40 Tact is the ability to describe others as they see themselves. Abraham Lincoln 41 Space isn’t remote at all. It’s only an hour’s drive away if your car could go straight upwards. Fred Hoyle 42 People who have what they want are fond of telling people who haven’t what they want that they really don’t want it. Ogden Nash 43 In the beginning the universe was created. This made a lot of people very angry, and has been widely regarded as a bad idea. Douglas Adams 44 There’s a hell of a distance between wisecracking and wit. Wit has truth in it, wisecracking is simply callisthenics with words. Dorothy Parker 45 I’d marry again if I found a man who had fifteen million dollars, would sign over half to me, and guarantee that he’d be dead within a year. Bette Davis
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
46 Every year, back comes spring, with nasty little birds yapping their fool heads off and the ground all mucked up with plants. Dorothy Parker 47 Say what you want about long dresses but they cover a multitude of shins. Mae West 48 It is difficult to produce a television documentary that is both incisive and probing when every twelve minutes one is interrupted by twelve dancing rabbits singing about toilet paper. Rod Sterling 49 It is better to keep your mouth closed and let people think you are a fool than to open it and remove all doubt. Mark Twain 50 I was recently on a tour of Latin America, and the only regret I have was that I didn’t study Latin at school so I could converse with those people. J. Danford Quayle 51 I don’t deserve this award, but then I have arthritis and I don’t deserve that either. Jack Benny 52 Don’t worry if you’re a kleptomaniac, you can always take something for it. Anonymous 152
Answers and Explanations
53 A banker is a fellow who lends you his umbrella when the sun is shining, but wants it back the minute it starts to rain. Mark Twain 54 Acting is merely the art of keeping a large group of people from coughing. Sir Ralph Richardson 55 It is always the best policy to speak the truth – unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar. Jerome K. Jerome 56 Opera is when a guy gets stabbed in the back and, instead of bleeding, he sings. Ed Gardner 57 If an elderly but distinguished scientist says that something is possible he is almost certainly right, but if he says that it is impossible he is very possibly wrong. Arthur C. Clarke 58 If only God would give me some clear sign! Like making a large deposit in my name in a Swiss bank. Woody Allen 59 Horse sense is the thing a horse has which keeps it from betting on people. W. C. Fields
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
60 Here is the test to find whether your mission on earth is finished. If you’re alive it isn’t. Richard Bach
1 Level Twoä—äKeyed Cryptograms 1 For Brutus is an honourable man, so are they all, all honourable men. William Shakespeare ( Julius Caesar) Keyed phrase: et tu Brute (ETUBR). 2 In listening mood, she seemed to stand, The guardian naiad of the strand. Sir Walter Scott (The Lady of the Lake) Keyed phrase: writer’s lost act (WRITESLOAC). ‘Writer’s lost act’ is an anagram of ‘Sir Walter Scott’. 3 I lingered round them, under that benign sky: watched the moths fluttering among the heath and harebells; listened to the soft wind breathing through the grass; and wondered how anyone could ever imagine unquiet slumbers for the sleepers in that quiet earth. Emily Bronte Keyed phrase: wuthering heights (WUTHERINGS). The words are the final passage from the Emily Bronte novel Wuthering Heights. 154
Answers and Explanations
4 Military intelligence is a contradiction in terms. Groucho Marx Keyed word: oxymoron (OXYMRN). 5 A woman is like a teabag. It’s only when she’s in hot water that you realise how strong she is. Nancy Reagan Keyed phrase: all about Eve (ALBOUTEV). This title, of the Bette Davis movie All About Eve, seems particularly appropriate, as both Eve and Nancy Reagan were First Ladies. 6 Time flies! I can’t, they go rushing past too fast. Keyed phrase: tempus fugit (TEMPUSFGI). 7 That this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom: and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from the earth. Abraham Lincoln Keyed phrase: the Gettysburg Address (THEGYSBURAD). The above passage is an extract from President Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address.
155
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
8 Neither a borrower, nor a lender be, For loan oft loses both itself and friend, And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry, This above all, to thine own self be true, And it must follow, as the night the day, Thou canst not then be false to any man. William Shakespeare (Hamlet) Keyed phrase: I’ll make a wise phrase (ILMAKEWSPHR). ‘I’ll make a wise phrase’ is an anagram of ‘William Shakespeare’. 9 God is really only another artist. He invented the giraffe, the elephant, and the cat. He has no real style. He just goes on trying other things. Pablo Picasso Keyed phrase: art is life and life is art (ARTISLFEND). 10 Music and women I cannot but give way to, whatever my business is. Samuel Pepys Keyed phrase: and so to bed (ANDSOTBE). These were the words with which Samuel Pepys closed his daily diary entry each evening before he retired to bed.
156
Answers and Explanations
11 With the greater part of rich people, the chief enjoyment of riches consists in the parade of riches. Adam Smith Keyed phrase: the wealth of nations (THEWALOFNIS). The Wealth of Nations is the title of the work from which the above passage is an extract. 12 It is our true policy to steer clear of permanent alliance with any portion of the foreign world. George Washington Keyed phrase: I cannot tell a lie (ICANOTEL). 13 I was a child and she was a child, In this kingdom by the sea, But we loved with a love that was more than love, I and my _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _. Edgar Allan Poe Keyed phrase: Annabel Lee (ANBEL). 14 Sir, you have tasted two whole worms, you have hissed all my mystery lectures and have been caught fighting a liar in the quad, you will leave Oxford by the next town drain. Rev. W. A. Spooner Keyed phrase: the blushing crow (THEBLUSINGCROW).
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
15 As you come from the Holy Land, Of Walsinghame, Met you not with my true love, By the way as you came? How shall I know your true love, That have met many one, As I went to the Holy Land, That have come, that have gone? Sir Walter Raleigh Keyed phrase: don’t lose your head (DONTLSEYURHA). Sir Walter Raleigh, in common with many others in the Elizabethan era did, indeed, lose his head to the executioner’s axe. 16 Some of your hurts you have cured, And the sharpest you still have survived, But what torments of grief you endured, From evils which never arrived! Ralph Waldo Emerson Keyed phrase: person whom all read (PERSONWHMALD). ‘Person whom all read’ is an anagram of ‘Ralph Waldo Emerson’.
158
Answers and Explanations
17 You can tell a lot about a fellow’s character from the way he eats jelly beans. Ronald Reagan Keyed phrase: an oral danger (ANORLDGE). ‘An oral danger’ is an anagram of ‘Ronald Reagan’. 18 On the whole I would rather be in Philadelphia. William Claude Dukenfield (W. C. Fields) Keyed phrase: famous last words (FAMOUSLTWRD) The above are reputedly the famous last words of W. C. Fields. 19 There is plenty of time by which we can win this game, and thrash the Spaniards too. Sir Francis Drake Keyed phrase: cannon and bowls (CANODBWLS). 20 When our relatives are at home, we have to think of all their good points or it would be impossible to endure them. But when they are away, we console ourselves for their absence by dwelling on their vices. George Bernard Shaw Keyed phrase: heartbreak house (HEARTBKOUS). The above extract is from George Bernard Shaw’s work, Heartbreak House.
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
21 I’ve met a lot of hardboiled eggs in my time, but you’re twenty minutes. Keyed phrase: Billy Wilder (BILYWDER). The above quote is taken from Billy Wilder’s movie, Ace in the Hole 22 See what the boys in the back room will have, and tell them I’m having the same. Frank Loessar Keyed phrase: nice Hitler dream (NICEHTLRDAM). ‘Nice Hitler dream’ is an anagram of ‘Marlene Dietrich’. The quotation is from the Frank Loessar song which was sung by Marlene Dietrich in the movie, Destry Rides Again.
2 Level Oneä—äWarm-up Puzzles 1 Read the message backwards to reveal the message ‘TIE DOGS HERE’. 2 FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE. Each pair of letters has been switched round and word boundaries omitted.
160
Answers and Explanations
3 The 3rd. Arrange the names as follows: T
O
M
M
Y
C
H
L
O
E
A
L
I
C
E
B
A
R
R
Y
D
A
V
I
D
The word ‘THIRD’ can be read diagonally from the top left-hand corner to the bottom right. 4
MEET YOU SATURDAY
5 ‘Zena La Vue’ is an anagram of ‘Venezuela’. You know, therefore, that you should meet her at the Venezuelan embassy. 6 Fortune favours the brave. 7 One good turn deserves another. 8 Let us not look back in anger, nor forward in fear, but around in awareness. James Thurber
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
9 Everything that irritates us about others can lead to an understanding of ourselves. Carl Jung 10 Great oaks from little acorns grow. 11 Literature is strewn with the wreckage of those who have minded beyond reason the opinion of others. Virginia Woolf 12 The summit is to take place in Finland. F in LAND. 13 LET’S GET OUT OF HERE. 14 See you 2.30 Thursday. Letters are formed by the white squares only as follows: CU230THU 15 Hope to see you at ten p.m. Friday. unhopeful, actor, beseech, joyous, elated, intense, shipment, befriend 16 CLIVE LOVES OLIVIA. Numbers are substituted for letters which have Roman numerals: 100(C)50(L)4(IV)E 50(L)O5(V)ES O50(L)4(IV)1(I)A
162
Answers and Explanations
17 Reverse all the agent’s names. Delia (ailed) is Hypochondriac, Tessa (asset) is Virtue, Enid (dine) is Banquet, Dennis (sinned) is Devil; therefore, the Postman must be Liam (mail). 18 Innocent (in O cent). 19 KEEP LEFT: each letter is shown with its left hand mirror image. 20 PIN NUMBER 3694. Each letter is shown with its left hand mirror image. Odd numbers are shown with their left-hand mirror image, even numbers with their right-hand mirror image. 21 The BOTSWANA EMBASSY. The top half of each letter only is shown complete with its mirror image below. 22 Start at the bottom right-hand corner square and read along each line in turn working upwards to spell out: DAME AGATHA MARY CLARISSA CHRISTIE.
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
23 Arrange the letters in columns as shown below to reveal the message: THE CHICKENS HAVE COME HOME TO ROOST
T H E C H
I
C K E N S H A V E C O M E H O M E T O R O O S
T
24 The message contains the letters SOS: SARGASSO SEA 25 Fall back: Autumn (fall) spelled backwards. 26 All systems go (an anagram of ‘glossy metals’). 27 Read the message upside-down to reveal FLY AWAY. 28 THERE IS ALWAYS ROOM AT THE TOP. Start at the top right-hand square and read the message from right to left a line at a time. All the vowels have been replaced by upwards-pointing arrows. 29 Fe is the symbol for iron. The visitor was the Iron Lady; the prime minister Margaret Thatcher. 164
Answers and Explanations
30 They are all anagrams of states through which Route 66 passes – Kansas (AS SANK); Oklahoma (HOOK ALMA); Texas (TAXES); New Mexico (ONCE WE MIX); California (FAIR OIL CAN). 31 Necessity is the mother of invention. 32 Arthur Stanley Jefferson Laurel. 33 Fine words butter no parsnips. 34 Till the cows come home. 35 There is no trick to being a humorist when you have the whole government working for you. Will Rogers 36 Vote early and vote often. Al Capone 37 THE GOOSE THAT LAYS THE GOLDEN EGGS. The precious commodity is, therefore, gold. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:X W V U T S R Q P O N M L K J I H G F E D C B A Z Y
The alphabet is reversed, starting under the letter X.
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
38 NO ENTRY. no N tree (pine). 39 ILLICIT: this is spelled out by using the keys themselves and not the handles. 40 It is always the best policy to speak the truth – unless, of course, you are an exceptionally good liar. Jerome K. Jerome Plain A B C D E F G H I J K L M Code 26 25 24 23 22 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 Plain N O P Q R Code 13 12 11 10 9
S 8
T 7
U V W X 6 5 4 3
Y Z 2 1
41
M
I
S
S
M
I
S
P
M
I
S
S
I
S
I
S
S
I
S
P
I
P
P
P
I
I
Advanced cryptographers may have further narrowed the location to the Mississippi Delta – the triangular shape in which the code is contained being the Greek letter Delta.
166
Answers and Explanations
42 COVENT GARDEN FLOWER MARKET. Split the message into three-letter bits, then reassemble them correctly. 43 THE OLD MAN AND THE SEA. The title can be read down each column (one word per column) ignoring every letter immediately above the symbol #. 44 We are inclined to believe those whom we do not know because they have never deceived us. Samuel Johnson Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M
Each letter is moved up 13 places in the alphabet. Known as ‘ROT-13 encoding’, this code is used occasionally to disguise the meaning of e-mail messages. It is a simple code that rotates each letter 13 places through the alphabet, replacing A by N, B by O, etc. It is often used to hide, from casual observers, subject matter that people may find offensive. To decode such messages, or indeed to encrypt messages to this format, select the text to be encoded or decoded, then choose ROT-13, when available, from the Edit menu.
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
45 LET’S CALL THE WHOLE THING OFF. Looking at each pair of lines, alternate pairs of letters have been switched round, starting with the second pair of letters.
L
E T
L
L
T H E W
H O L I
S C A E T H
N G O F
F
46 HERE STOP AND SPEND A SOCIAL HOUR IN HARMLESS MIRTH AND FUN. LET FRIENDSHIP REIGN, BE JUST AND KIND AND EVIL SPEAK OF NO ONE. 47 BENEATH THIS STONE REPOSETH CLAUD COSTER, TRIPE SELLER OF IMPINGTON, AS DOTH HIS CONSORT JANE. 48 O see Billy, see ‘em go Forty buses in a row O no Billy, ‘dem is trucks What is in ‘em? Cows and ducks.
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Answers and Explanations
49 O Tommy, I saw years ago Forty buses in a row No Billy, no Billy Them is trucks you silly So what’s in ‘em? Just guano. Note that this version uses the Roman V for U (as in CLAVDIVS, i.e. CLAUDIUS), and includes the perhaps not so well-known word ‘guano’, meaning manure. 50 Delete the word ‘CODE’ three times to reveal TREASURE CHEST. 51 Mount St. Helens ‘Mounts the lens’ with different word boundaries # ‘Mount St. Helens’. 52 (i) Aegean Sea; (ii) Eau de Vie; (iii) effigy; (iv) excellency; (v) a wise head; (vi) excuse; (vii) disease; (viii) expediency; (ix) a queue; (x) joyless; (xi) forensic; (xii) remorse; (xiii) periodically. 53 BREVITY IS THE SOUL OF LINGERIE. All vowels have been replaced by the letter V, and word boundaries have been removed. 54 The 17th. Each number represents its position in the grid. 17 means column 1, row 7.
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
55 The conference is to be held in Baden Baden.
H A B
I
T
A B A T E B A D E N I
T E M S
T E N S
E
Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V
56 HYMN 57 Ten Swiss Witnesses
I
T T E N
SW I S S
IT W IT NE S SE S
170
Answers and Explanations
58 This message is encrypted using symbols from the pig pen cipher, which was once used by Freemasons. The pig pen cipher symbols are as follows:
A B C D E
F
G H
I
S T U
W X
V
J Z
K
L
M N O
Y
P
Q
R
59 Handlebar moustache: H A
N D
L E
B A
R M
O U
S T
A C
H E
60 BATTLESHIP, SUBMARINE, OCEAN LINER, HELICOPTER, STEAMBOAT. Helicopter is the odd one out, as all the others are seagoing vessels. 61 At Coney Island (the amusement park in Brooklyn, New York) ‘Mean rump steak’ is an anagram of ‘amusement park’. 62 Reverse each set of three letters to reveal the message: COME TO THE RESCUE. 171
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
63 It’s a recession when your neighbour loses his job, it’s a depression when you lose your own. Harry Truman The vowels have not been substituted. The consonants have shifted one place down the alphabet, ignoring vowels. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:A Z B C E D F G I H J K L M O N P Q R S U T V WX Y
64 FRANKLY, MY DEAR, I DON’T GIVE A DAMN. Read down each column in turn from right to left. 65 CRATER (METEOR CRATER).
2 Level Twoä—äMore Challenging Puzzles 1 YOU ARE THE WEAKEST LINKä—äGOODBYE! Vowels are removed and the consonants only listed in reverse order in groups of three letters.
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Answers and Explanations
2 PUZZLE SOLVED.
P U Z Z L E S O L V E D Rotate each symbol according to the number above it. The number 1 means 90° clockwise, the number 2 means 180° clockwise and the number 3 means 270° clockwise. 3 FUNEX (Have you any eggs?) SVFX (Yes, we have eggs) FUMNX (Have you ham and eggs?) SVFMNX (Yes, we have ham and eggs) 4 IN THIS METHOD OF ENCRYPTION THE VOWELS (INCLUDING Y) HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED NUMBERS FROM ONE TO SIX AND THE CONSONANTS USED IN REVERSE ORDER. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:1 Z X W 2 V T S 3 R Q P N M 4 L K J H G 5 F D C 6 B
5 Rooney. Take the numbered letter of each team in turn as indicted by their score: Norwich City
3
Nottingham Forest
2
Aston Villa
4
Manchester United
3
Everton
1
Yeovil Town
1
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
6 Start at the top left-hand square and move horizontally to alternate squares line by line. When you reach the bottom, move back to the second square on the top row and continue to move to alternate squares to spell out the message: The treasure is in the area located on the third row and down the second column. 7 Virtue has its own reward but no box office. Mae West The quotation is broken up into groups of five letters and a dummy letter inserted into each group. The dummy letters spell out the name ‘Mae West’. 8 Alter the word boundaries to reveal the message: Issues topping our mail: manslaughter 9 HAUL DOWN YOUR FLAG. Take the first letters from the words in the first line, the second letters from the words in the second line, the third letters from the words in the third line and the fourth letters from the words in the fourth line. 10 Take the first two letters of each word in turn to spell out: Diamonds are forever
174
Answers and Explanations
11 Back in half an hour. The letters are half of those needed to spell SIXTY MINUTES (half an hour). 12 TOXICANT. The number in each shape indicated which numbered letter to take in the spelling of that shape: HEPTAGON – PENTAGON – HEXAGON – TRIANGLE – CIRCLE – SQUARE – DECAGON ä–ä OCTAGON 13 Literally cross out the sentence ‘TWENTY-SIX LETTERS’ to reveal the phrase ‘BEWARE THE IDES OF MARCH’ reading down each column in turn.
B T T W S E A N
I
A
O T
E Y S D
I
X R H L
F C
E
R
E T E T E
W R E
S M H
14 LOVE IS GRAND, DIVORCE IS A HUNDRED GRAND. The first and third lines are the vowels split into groups of three letters. The second and fourth lines are the consonants split into groups of three letters.
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The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
15 BRIGADIER GENERAL.
B R
I
G
A D
I
E
R G E N E R A L Letters on the first line across go back by one in the alphabet, letters in the second by two, in the third line by three and in the fourth line by four. 16 You snake in the grass. ASP (SNAKE) IN TURF (GRASS) 17 CLUE DEDUCED. Each letter is shown with its left-hand mirror image and the words are spelled out in reverse.
18 The Enigma Variations. ‘NAME EIGHT’ and ‘IN THE GAME’ are both anagrams of ‘THE ENIGMA’
176
Answers and Explanations
19 PERSONAL IDENTIFICATION NUMBER 1224. The letters of ‘Personal Identification Number’ are split into groups of four and another letter is added to each group. The letters added are MCCXXIV # 1224 in Roman numerals. 20 SELL NOW. Take the letter in the alphabet between the last and first letters of each pair, for example: banker s treasurer 21 Ten p.m. Friday. Take each letter as described, for example last agent # T, end of line # E, centre of attention # N: Last agent at end of line is centre of attention. Starting point, from top of my head, is found at centre of task force. Keep to middle of the road. Impact initially at start of day. First attack at final extremity.
177
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
22 Place the spider over the letter G as shown below in order to spell out GLASTONBURY.
F X Y L D R G W A M U S N V J
S
B O K H
C P
E T Q
23 TRAFALGAR SQUARE. Each letter moves forward one place in the alphabet. The answer below is the word Trafalgar in a square arrangement of letters.
T R A F A L G A R
178
Answers and Explanations
24 The plans are hidden in the case.
N P Y E D S A E
E
L R C E G
Q D D A G T P X
I
L
E R Z
E
J
S D N R V I
S
T
O K D H V
D A E K E Q Z 25 CONGRATULATIONS ON CRACKING THIS CODE. Letters are split into groups of three, which are then placed in the wrong order. 26 UNIDENTIFIED FLYING OBJECT. The letters in each block of four are swapped round diagonally.
U N
I
D
E N T
I
F
I
F
L Y
E D I
N G O B J
E C T
179
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
27 FIGURE OUT UNITS REVEALED FROM OUTPUT UNAIDED RESOLVE NUMBERS IMPLIED NOT EXPRESSIVE FANTASTIC IN VERSE EVOLVE. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:Q F T L C K R W S H U M A E G X N V Y B I O J Z D P
The initial letters of each line of verse reveal the PIN number 4495. 28 BEAM ME UP SCOTTY! Arrange the words in the order: GRAB EXTRA MADAM EMU PLUS CAMEO TABLET YACHT Then take the last and first letters of each word respectively.
180
Answers and Explanations
29 The location is WIMBLEDON PARK. When decoded the message reads: Be bold. If you’re going to make an error, make a doozy, and don’t be afraid to hit the ball. Billie Jean King
C
F
G
H
J
Q
S
T
U
V
X
Y
Z
W
I
M
B
L
E
D
O
N
P
A
R
K
In the encryption, letters at the top are used for letters at the bottom and vice versa. 30 PROCEED TO ENTRY. A 3 indicates that a letter of the phrase ‘proceed to entry’ is in the word DECODE or ENCRYPT according to the word under which it appears. An 7 indicates that a letter of the phrase ‘proceed to entry’ does not appear. Letters of the phrase ‘proceed to entry’ are thus produced reading down the columns from top to bottom. 31 When pigs fly. Take the missing letter in the alphabetic sequence of each group of four letters: V(w)XYZä—äG(h)IJKä—äCD(e)FGä—äM(n)OPQä—äO(p)QRSä— äFGH(i)Jä—äF(g)HIJä—äR(s)TUVä—äDE(f)GHä—äK(l)MNOä— äVWX(y)Z 181
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
32 I seem able to fix new deal. 33 Agent 44. Extract the Roman numerals from each name to obtain the number of each agent: Agent 44 # XLIV: EXPLETIVE EXPLOITATION # XLII (42) LIAISON # LII (52) HELIX # LIX (59) LOVE # LV (55) 34 He went ahead with the attack. The message he received is an incomplete mnemonic for the colours of the rainbow, each word commencing with the initial letters of the colours: red, orange, yellow, blue, indigo, violet. The missing word in the puzzle is the word ‘gained’ (Richard of York gained battles in vain), and the missing element is green, which was his instruction to go ahead with the attack (green for go).
182
Answers and Explanations
35 Start at the bottom left-hand corner square and follow the arrow directions to reveal the message: All present and accounted for
A N T O R T N U E
F
P N D O D L R E A C A L
E
S C
36 Insert the letters into a grid line by line as shown below, then read up and down each column, respectively, starting at the bottom right-hand corner square, to reveal the phrase: UP THE CREEK WITHOUT A PADDLE
P A R C A T E
E
D U E H D O K T L H W P E T 183
I
U
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
37 Abandon ship. 38 Security alert warning. Take the first letter of the first word and the last letter of the second word, and continue doing the same with each pair of words. 39 BUY NOW. In each line take the letter that is repeated, e.g. the first line contains two letter Bs, the second line two letter Us, the third line two letter Ys, etc. 40 WE’LL SURRENDER! Black arrows indicate NSEW depending on which direction they are pointing. White arrows indicate UDLR depending on whether they are pointing up, down, left or right. 41 The treasure is buried behind the square with the X. Take every letter immediately above the * to reveal the message: X MARKS THE SPOT 42 CONTACT COLLETTE AT ONCE IN CITY LOCATION. Alice and Tony encrypt their names as follows:
A
L
I
C
E
T
O
N
Y
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
184
Answers and Explanations
43 Pippa (08004), Matt (5427) and Emma (3594) Amy, Pete and Tim code their names as follows:
P
E
T
E
A
M
Y
T
I
M
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
44 THE EAGLE HAS LANDED. The numbers in the centre indicate how many of each letter should be used to assemble the phrase. The phrase ‘the eagle has landed’ uses the letters T (1), H (2), E (4), A (3), G (1), S (1), L (2), N (1) and D (2). 45 08.15. Substitute each of the times (except the last one) with each of its correspondingly positioned letter in the alphabet to reveal the message: Strike at 08.15 19.20 s t
18.09 r i
11.05 k e
01.20 a t
08.15 08.15
46 Arrange the words into the order MAY COUGH WITH GREY TAPE, then read the sentence paying attention to the sound, rather than the words, to reveal the message: MAKE OFF WITH GREAT APE.
185
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
47 When the orchestra play the Jupiter movement from The Planet Suite by Gustav Holst. The message is a mnemonic which provides the name of the planets in order from the sun: Mercury, Venus, Earth, Mars, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto. The one planet missing from the mnemonic (which should read: ‘mother very eagerly made jam sandwiches under no protest’), is Jupiter. 48 Start at the centre square and spiral anti-clockwise to read the message: ONE HUNDRED YARDS DUE EAST OF THIS MONUMENT IS THE SITE OF THE GRUESOME MURDER ON THE 3RD DAY OF DECEMBER 1655 OF CHARLES AND LYDIA GILL, THE OCCUPANTS OF KILLHAM HALL IN THE COUNTY OF WEST WORKSHIRE, WALES. R.I.P. 49 The number 34.
4 14 15 1 11 5
8 10
6 12 9 13 3
7
2 16
Each set of letters are the first and last letters, in the case of numbers up to and including 11 (e.g. FR for four). For numbers 12ä–ä16 take the first two letters followed by the last letter (e.g. THN for thirteen). When all the numbers have been placed, each line across and down, and corner to corner diagonal, totals 34. 186
Answers and Explanations
50 Reverse four letters at a time to reveal the message: SAFE AND SOUND 51 It produces the phrase ‘straight down the middle’: fir(st
rai)se
deli(ght
dow)ry
law(n
the)rapy
char(m
id)yllic
pon(d
le)ngth
52 TOMORROW. Take the initial letters of the girls names only in the order they appear in the list. 53 To the disco. Change one letter in each word to produce five capital cities: ROME, MALE, LIMA, TUNIS, BERN The discarded letters from each word spell DISCO.
187
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
54 It is better to be looked over than overlooked. Mae West Number the five vowels i, ii, iii, iv, v in the order they appear in the alphabet. Number the remaining consonants 1ä–ä21 in the order they appear in the alphabet. 55 Monday second September (an anagram of ‘creepy mad sons entombed’) 56 Take the night flight to Paris. All the vowels have been replaced by the letter V, and the message is read starting at the top right-hand square and working across the top line, then back along the second line, etc.
T E K A T H E N
I
I
T H
L
F
G
G H T T O S
I
R A P
57 IN THIS CODE THE ALPHABET HAS BEEN MOVED UP TEN PLACES BUT TO COMPLICATE MATTERS THE MESSAGE HAS BEEN DIVIDED UP INTO FOUR LETTER CHUNKS. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:Q R S T U V W X Y Z A B C D E F G H I J K L M NO P 188
Answers and Explanations
58
S H E
I
A
S
R
I
S C Y T H E
S
H
K
Q U
U
F
D I
K
I
T Y P
A I
E A
P
V
E
P
L
E
E
S
S
A Y
C
I
L A U N C H
O
A
N E W S
E
T
F
N
I
U
U
T
S
A B
I
L
O
G E R M A N
B
E
N C
D
A
S U M
G Y P
I
E X T E
J
W
G N O M E E
Z
K D O M
N
E
H
R E
E
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
K
L
M
B
C
D
F
J
K
M
P
Q W X
Y
Z
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V W X
Y
Z
V
A
U
L
T
I
N
G
H
S
E
Key phrase: vaulting horse
189
J
L
O
R
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
59
F
L O T A
O B
I
W J
Y
L A
G L
A
U
A
B R
D A W D L
E
L
I
W
E T
I E
T
A N T H E M T
I
H
I
E C T
C R A F I
L
T E M
C
I
I
O
O R
I
E N T
N
M
Q
Y O G A
Z
V
R
E N
I
G M A
S
N
T
T R E K
M Y
S D
P O U T E
E
R E T O
I
R E
U
O
E X P O S U R E
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
X
Y
Z
T
R
A
M
P
O
L
I
N
E
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V
W X
Y
Z
B
C
D
F
G
H
J
K
Q
S
V W
Key word: trampoline
190
U
Answers and Explanations
60
B A T H R O O M D
O
D
E
T R
S
E
A X L A
S U F P
I
F
A
R
C
E A R W I U
L
G
C
P R O U D
E
E
S
X
O
I
F
A
Y A R N
B
O
Z E A L
Q U A R R Y
E
E
K
D
E
N
C A P T O R
S
K N A V E
N K
A
A V O W E D E
W I
A I
L
L C A N L
T
A N A L Y S
S
E
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
F
I
J
K
L
M
N
P
Q
S
V
W X
N
O
P
Q
R
S
T
U
V W X
Y
Z
Z
Y
O
G
H
U
R
T
A
D
E
Key word: yoghurt
191
B
C
M
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
2 Level Threeä—äVery Challenging Puzzles 1 EXTERMINATE. Add up each group of three letters and take the correspondingly numbered letter in the alphabet. 2 THE COAST IS CLEAR. In each line take the letters as indicated by the numbers. For example, the first line contains the numbers 3 and 8, therefore, take the 3rd and 8th letters, T and H, on that line. 3 42157. Only elements that do not appear in the numbers when digitally displayed are shown.
4 HELP CHLOE. Only elements that do not appear when the letters are displayed digitally are shown.
192
Answers and Explanations
5 PRESS THE BOTTOM RIGHT SQUARE. The instructions appear in the middle 5 " 5 block of squares, starting at the letter P and spiralling clockwise into the centre.
L O W N E U X P A N S
A P M E
L C S D U A
S
I
E
I
I
R T
N Q V C X O H
E K W I
N E R O L
N S X P Q U A C E
B G B O T T O Z
L
S U V
O U T U E Q U A M X P H E F
S
I
B H S E R R B A C L
A T R H T T H G I O D Y H O R L K S
S E R P E Y
I
S
L
S W H K D A
I
N
P O W U T R E B C G
J
K
N E O P L
A N E Y U
I
R N G U Y Z U
Q W E R T Y K S A L M D X
193
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
6 The number is 142857.
One bead moved up counts as one
Two beads moved up counts as two.
1 4 2 8 5 7
194
One bead moved up counts as five (below the line)
Answers and Explanations
7 Each letter represents its position in the grid, as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 A B C D E
A B C D E F G H
I
J
K L M N O P Q R
S
T
U V W X Y
So, for example, the letter B is represented by the number 12 because it is in the first row, second column, and the letter R is represented by the number 43 because it is in the fourth row, third column. When decoded the message reads: A wide screen makes a bad film twice as bad. Samuel Goldwyn 8 IN SHELL OIL. Punch the calculation into your calculator and then look at the answer 71077345 upside down.
195
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
9 Paul is the culprit. The initial of his name (the letter P) appears in the shape of the letter C, indicating that he is the culprit. The initial letters of both James and Charles (the letters J and C) appear in the form of the letter I, indicating that they are innocent.
S O N R T B Z Z X L R N U O F M N N Q W H M N
E
E
I
Y D N X X K M V B
E
L
L
I
O H E
G N D U X T T N U D D D R N U S Y N E K H Z
I W L G N R
F
J
U A A U P P P B E A M
O S
J
A T T M P F E R R G O
A T
J
K U E W P M S Y A A F
S H J
L U S W P P P D R Y O
Q K L
T C Y O
L
I
U R F
H E G Y C V X U R L I
I
C
W A X
I
C P G H E A
A G
S D U B
S Q K D A E
B D U
G T O A C S
S
S
I
H
L V X
E R Y B U X O W
196
Answers and Explanations
10 12433312. The number represents the times that a number has to be pressed when sending a text message on a cell phone, e.g. to obtain the letter M, the number (6) must be pressed once, and to obtain the letter U the number (8) must be pressed twice. 11 MONACO. Take every word that is pronounced the same as an individual letter of the alphabet: cat, dog, ace, pie, hem (M), fog, axe, owe (O), tip, bun, spy, gap, hen (N), oak, cub, hay (A), red, tap, has, sea (C), duo, pen, add, hoe (O), fez, lid, yet. 12 HAVE LORD AND APOSTLES IN PICTURE. This is an anagram of ‘The Last Supperä—äLeonardo Da Vinci’. The method of encoding is to write the alphabet in two lines as below, so that in the encryption, for example, the letter L becomes O and vice versa.
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
H
I
J
K
L
M
Z
Y
X W V
U
T
S
R
Q
P
O
N
197
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
13 GREAT MINDS THINK ALIKE. Find one of the words of the phrase in each line by finding consecutive adjacent letters of the alphabet and taking the first letter of each such pair. 14 The paradox is a mysterious creature. Each number represents the number of a letter in the instructions: P (1) a (2) y (3) e (4) " (5) t (6) r (7) e (8) m (9) e (10) l (11) y (12) c (13) l (14) o (15) s (16) e (17) a (18) t (19) t (20) e (21) n (22) t (23) i (24) o (25) n (26) t (27) o (28) t (29) h (30) e (31) i (32) n (33) s (34) t (35) r (36) u (37) c (38) t (39) i (40) o (41) n (42) s (43) w (44) h (45) e (46) n (47) d (48) e (49) c (50) o (51) d (52) i (53) n (54) g (55) t (56) h (57) e (58) f (59) o (60) l (61) l (62) o (63) w (64) i (65) n (66) g (67) m (68) e (69) s (70) s (71) a (72) g (73) e (74)
198
Answers and Explanations
15 The number in each figure indicates the number of times that the letter which starts the spelling of each figure should be used, i.e. square (S " 2), triangle (T " 3), octagon (O " 5), pentagon (P " 2) and hexagon (H " 2). The letters SSTTTOOOOOPPHH can be rearranged to spell the two phrases: STOP PHOTO SHOOT and SHOOT TOP PHOTOS 16 LIFE IS JUST A BOWL OF CHERRIES. Arrange each group of letters in columns in the following order: L
I
F
E
I
S
J
U
S
T
A
B
O
W
L
O
F
C
H
E
R
R
I
E
S
199
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
17 Rhapsody in Blue. Each letter will convert the groups of letters into new words: R!
hatedä—äpieceä—äbakeä—äcave
#
hatredä—äpierceä—äbrakeä—äcarve
H!
cartä—ätreeä—älateä—ätreat
#
chartä—äthreeä—älatheä—äthreat
A!
placeä—äbestä—äannulä—ärevel
#
palaceä—äbeastä—äannualä—äreveal
P!
sinä—ämaleä—äinsectä—äcoy
#
spinä—ämapleä—äinspectä—äcopy
S!
palmä—ädutyä—äcaresä—äcured #
psalmä—ädustyä—äcaressä—äcursed
O!
salonä—äbuyä—äcasterä—äbat
#
saloonä—äbuoyä—äcoasterä—äboat
D!
mealä—äreactä—äauntä—äamen
#
medalä—äredactä—ädauntä—äamend
Y!
flingä—äcanonä—äearä—äarm
#
flyingä—äcanyonä—äyearä—äarmy
I!
fendä—äbassä—äranä—ästar
#
fiendä—äbasisä—ärainä—ästair
N!
bedä—äsoreä—ämothä—äarea
#
bendä—äsnoreä—ämonthä—äarena
B!
reelä—äblurä—äaleä—äcue
#
rebelä—äblurbä—äableä—äcube
L!
angerä—äholyä—ämuchä—äbow
#
anglerä—ähollyä—ämulchä—äblow
U!
caseä—äbondä—äsageä—äfor
#
causeä—äboundä—äusageä—äfour
E!
chatä—ästepä—äblowä—äbad
#
cheatä—ästeepä—äbelowä—äbead
200
Answers and Explanations
18 The Venus de Milo. Take the middle letter of each word to reveal the phrase ‘I love Ms Nude’, which is an anagram of ‘Venus de Milo’. 19 The letters are arranged in the pyramid below to reveal the message: CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION
C
U
O
N
F
I
D
E
N
T
I
A
L
C
O
M M
N
I
C
A
T
I
O
N
20 Extract the Roman numerals MDCIIIä—äwhich is 1603, the year of Queen Elizabeth the First’s death.
201
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
21 A pangram is a sentence that contains every letter of the alphabet, for example, jinxed KGB spy with qualms covers fez. Arrange the letters in the grid below to reveal a further pangram: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 QU I C KW A X Y B U G S
J U M P T H E
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 F
R O
Z
E
N
V E
L
D T
22 His code name is Leonardo da Vinci. He orders ‘Vindaloo and rice’, which is an anagram of ‘Leonardo da Vinci’. 23 WARNINGä—äTHIS EMAIL CONTAINS A VIRUS. Look at a computer keyboard and work diagonally down to the right from each number. For example the letters below the number 1 are Q, A and Z, which are, therefore, given the numbers 1ä–ä1, 1ä–ä2, 1ä–ä3 in the encryption. 24 The terrace. Add one letter to each of the words to produce a food item: tart, pâté, bread, broth, bean, chop, veal The letters added spell ‘terrace’.
202
Answers and Explanations
25 The Sahara Desert. Take every letter immediately to the left of ! . The letters thus chosen spell out SEAR SAD EARTH, an anagram of ‘SAHARA DESERT’. 26 SEEK AND YE SHALL FIND. Every second letter spells SEEK, every subsequent third letter spells AND, every subsequent fourth letter spells YE, every subsequent fifth letter spells SHALL, and every subsequent sixth letter spells FIND. 27 IT IS NOT THE MOUNTAIN WE CONQUER BUT OURSELVES. SIR EDMUND HILLARY Each letter represents its position in the grid as follows:
1 2 3 4 5 A B C D E
A B C D E F G H
I
J
K L M N O P Q R
S
T
U V W X Y
So, for example, the letter B is represented as A2 because it is in the first row, second column, and the letter R is represented by the number D3 because it is in the fourth row, third column. 203
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
28 The Orient Express. Take every letter in turn that is horizontally, vertically or diagonally adjacent to the same letter to spell out ‘Orient Express’. 29 The plum pie. Decoded, the message reads: Now I know a rhyme excelling, In hidden words and magic spelling, Wranglers perhaps deploring, For me its nonsense isn’t boring. This rhyme, which is 21 words long, is a mnemonic for remembering pi to 20 decimal places (3.14159265358979323846); each word contains the same number of letters as 3.14159265358979323846, in the same order. The agent knew, therefore, that he had to pick up the pie. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code: J F T I P B E S L Z A O K H Q W R C Y M V X D U NG
30 The message reads: Set off soon to Tennessee. Take the initial letters of each number in turn, e.g: 782 # Seven–Eight–Two
204
Answers and Explanations
31 I love U. Take the initial letters of the words that are part of the International phonetic (NATO) alphabet only (see Appendix 2). Paris, roses, India (I), romance, heart, amour, Lima (L), France, award, Oscar (O), honeymoon, Victor (V), joy, passion, echo (E), Spain, uniform (U), wedding, springtime. 32 Wagner’s music is better than it sounds. In each word take the letter immediately following the first vowel to reveal the quotation. 33 ! !
102263 983703 120341
# 1206307 Coded message: A CRUCIAL MEDICAL MIRACLE CURE CLAIMED. 34 THE FIVE BOXING WIZARDS JUMP QUICKLY. This is the famous typists’ test sentence, in which every letter of the alphabet is used at least once. The method of encryption is to list letters in the order they appear on a computer keyboard line by line, under the letters Aä–äZ. Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:Q W E R T Y U I O P A S D F G H J K L Z X C V B NM 205
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
35 Animals are such agreeable friendsä—äthey ask no questions, they pass no criticisms. George Eliot Plain: A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z Code:L I O N G I R A F F E G O R I L L A F L A M I N GO
Mother was taking her family to the zoo.
3 Famous Codes and Ciphers The Lincoln Cipher BATES, IF I CHOOSE, BE IN OR ABOUT HAWKEYE CREEK AT DARK TOMORROW WEDNESDAY EVENING, COULD YOU WITHOUT INCONVENIENCE MEET ME AND PASS AN HOUR OR TWO WITH ME. A. LINCOLN, BURNSIDE, FALMOUTH, VIRGINIA.
206
5 Addenda Addendum 1ä—äMorse Code A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R
S T U V W X Y Z 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 0
207
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
The International Morse Code Devised by Samuel Morse in the 1830s, Morse code is a binary code for the transmission of messages which uses a system of dots and dashes that can be sent by a flash lamp, telegraph key, some other rhythmic device, or even a tapping finger. As a telegraph key is moved up and down, it makes or breaks an electric circuit and transmits a signal as a series of electric pulses. Each letter or number is represented by a combination of dashes and dots: a dash being equal to three dots in duration. The best-known Morse code signal signifies distress: dot dot dot; dash dash dash; dot dot dot (SOS). The International Morse Code, an improved version of Samuel Morse’s original, was devised at a European conference in 1851. Morse code was made redundant as a result of a decision in 1988 by the International Maritime Organization (the United Nations body on shipping safety) to introduce from 1993 the Global Maritime Distress and Safety System, which uses satellite technology and dispenses with the tapping out of signals by a radio operator.
208
Addenda
Addendum 2ä—äThe Nato Alphabet A
Alpha
N
November
B
Bravo
O
Oscar
C
Charlie
P
Papa
D
Delta
Q
Quebec
E
Echo
R
Romeo
F
Foxtrot
S
Sierra
G
Golf
T
Tango
H
Hotel
U
Uniform
I
India
V
Victor
J
Juliet
W
Whisky
K
Kilo
X
X-Ray
L
Lima
Y
Yankee
M
Mike
Z
Zulu
Also referred to as the International Phonetic Alphabet, or standard international code, the above code is useful for ensuring that difficult names and addresses, or other important information is recorded. The NATO alphabet coding will be especially familiar to anyone who has used shortwave communication by emergency services, such as the police. Where reception may be poor and letters easily confused, 209
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes
such coding minimizes error, the names used in the alphabet having been specially chosen because phonetically they are unlikely to be mistaken for any other letter.
Addendum 3ä—äSemaphore
A
B
C
D
E
F
G
K
L
M
N
O
S
T
U
V
W
H
P
X
I
Q
Y
J
R
Z
Semaphore is a code and signalling method of visual communication in which the 26 letters of the alphabet are represented by the flag positions shown. A few additional signals indicate the end of a word or that there has been an error, etc. The digits 0 and 1ä–ä9 are represented by the same signals as those used for the first ten letters, following an initial warning signal. 210
Addenda
The method of semaphore signalling consists of one or two mechanically operated arms attached to an upright post, or two hand-held flags at arm’s length which are moved to the required sequence of positions in order to spell out the message. Signalling by means of hand-held flags was formerly used for military purposes at sea and on land and was widely used in visual telegraphy before the advent of electricity. Old-style railway signals are a simple form of semaphore, with a single arm having two positions to indicate STOP and GO.
Addendum 4ä—äSmiley Faces Everyone who has used the Internet will be familiar with the range of Smiley faces which frequently appear on e-mails. They are actually codes that can be typed on a keyboard, and are used to indicate a varied range of emotions. A few of the more commonly encountered ones are listed below: l l l l l l l l
:-) ;-) :-( :-I :-> >:-> >;-> :*)
Basic Smiley Winky Smiley Frowning Smiley Indifferent Smiley Sarcastic remark Devilish remark Winky and devil combined User under the influence of drink 211
The Puzzle Addict’s Book of Codes l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l l
8-) B:-) ::-) B-) :-{) :-{} {:-) :-7 :-~) :'-( :'-) :-@ :-& |-I |-O :-Q :-? :-D :-X :-/ *