Editing Cryptogram (section)

==History==
The ciphers used in cryptograms were created not for entertainment purposes, but for real encryption of military or [[privacy|personal secrets]].<ref name="Sutherland">{{cite book |last=Sutherland |first=Denise |title=Cracking Codes and Cryptograms For Dummies |last2=                                         
                                                                            
                                                                            
                                                     Koltko-Rivera |first2=Mark |publisher=[[John Wiley & Sons]] |year=2009 |isbn=978-1-1180-6847-2}}</ref>

The first use of the cryptogram for entertainment purposes occurred during the [[Middle Ages]] by monks who had spare time for intellectual games. A manuscript found at [[Bamberg]] states that Irish visitors to the court of [[Merfyn Frych ap Gwriad]] (died 844), king of [[Kingdom of Gwynedd|Gwynedd]] in [[Wales]], were given a cryptogram which could only be solved by transposing the letters from Latin into Greek.<ref>Kenney, J. F. (1929), The Sources for the Early History of Ireland (Ecclesiastical), Dublin, Four Courts Press, p. 556 (363).</ref> Around the thirteenth century, the English monk [[Roger Bacon]] wrote a book in which he listed seven cipher methods, and stated that "a man is crazy who writes a secret in any other way than one which will conceal it from the vulgar." In the 19th century [[Edgar Allan Poe]] helped to popularize cryptograms with many newspaper and magazine articles.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://baltimorepostexaminer.com/edgar-allan-poe-and-cryptography-are-there-hidden-messages-in-eureka/2013/04/27|title=Edgar Allan Poe and cryptography: Are there hidden messages in Eureka?|work=baltimorepostexaminer.com|access-date=2017-09-28|language=en-US}}</ref>

Well-known examples of cryptograms in contemporary culture are the syndicated newspaper puzzles Cryptoquip and Cryptoquote, from [[King Features Syndicate|King Features]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://weekly.kingfeatures.com/?team=games-and-puzzles|title=Games and Puzzles {{!}} King Features Weekly Service|website=weekly.kingfeatures.com|date=16 June 2014 |language=en-US|access-date=2018-01-19}}</ref> Celebrity Cipher, distributed by [[Andrews McMeel Syndication|Andrew McMeel]], is another cipher game in contemporary culture, challenging the player to decrypt quotes from famous personalities.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Imi |first=K |date=March 22, 2023 |title=Celebrity Cipher Today Answer |url=https://cryptoquip.net/todays-celebrity-cipher-answer/ |access-date=March 22, 2023 |work=Cryptoquip.net |pages=1}}</ref> 

A cryptoquip is a specific type of cryptogram that usually comes with a clue or a pun. The solution often involves a humorous or witty phrase.<ref>{{Cite web |last=William |date=2024-08-11 |title=Cryptoquip Answer Today |url=https://cryptoquip.net/cryptoquip-answer-today/ |access-date=2024-08-11 |website=Cryptoquip |language=en-US}}</ref>

In a public challenge, writer J.M. Appel announced on September 28, 2014, that the table of contents page of his short story collection, ''Scouting for the Reaper'', doubled as a cryptogram, and he pledged an award for the first to solve it.<ref>"A Challenge," ''Hoosier Topics'', (Cloverdale, IN) Sept 29, 2014</ref>