Editing Cryptogram (section)

{{short description|Puzzle}}
{{Other uses}}
{{redirect|Cryptic writings|the Megadeth album|Cryptic Writings}}
{{distinguish|text=[[cryptogam]], a type of biological organism}}

[[File:Cryptogram-example.svg|right|thumb|297px|Example cryptogram. When decoded it reads: "Style and structure are the essence of a book; great ideas are hogwash." -Vladimir Nabokov]]
A '''cryptogram''' is a type of puzzle that consists of a short piece of [[encryption|encrypted]] text.<ref name= "allure">{{cite news |last=Danesi |first=Marcel |url= https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/brain-workout/201009/cryptograms-and-the-allure-secret-codes |title=Cryptograms and the Allure of Secret Codes |work=[[Psychology Today]] |date=September 22, 2010 |access-date=June 11, 2017}}</ref> Generally the [[cipher]] used to encrypt the text is simple enough that the cryptogram can be solved by hand. [[Substitution cipher]]s where each letter is replaced by a different letter, number, or symbol are frequently used. To solve the puzzle, one must recover the original lettering. Though once used in more serious applications, they are now mainly printed for entertainment in newspapers and magazines.

Other types of [[classical cipher]]s are sometimes used to create cryptograms. An example is the [[book cipher]], where a book or article is used to encrypt a message.