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Wynnie
Rohan
Sep 8 2014, 12:14am
Post #1 of 14
(449 views)
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Long time, no cryptograms
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If you visited the TORn boards around 2006-07, you may remember that I used to post a monthly LotR cryptogram challenge back then for those who loved word puzzles as well as Tolkien. Well, this weekend's most enjoyable Ren Faire moot got me thinking that it might be fun to put together a new set.
In case some folks aren't familiar with cryptograms, they're sentences encrypted using basic letter substitution; e.g. A=M, B=Z, etc. General instructions and tips for solving cryptograms are available here and elsewhere on the Web.
Below are three encoded quotes from LotR (book, not movie). Just decode them and post your answers below. No spoilers in your subject lines, please!
For extra credit, tell: (a) who said it, (b) to whom, (c) in which chapter. If b is more than one person, you can name any/all of them; if a or b is an unnamed character, a general identification (e.g., "an orc") is fine. Open book.
1. SV ERDDYV QO NYTQVON VLRV CO CSVDOBB VLO
POOVSDA YM NORI MISODNB.
2. RKI UPZ MU UKMZMZO, FZT KILI JI FLI RHOIRKIL
WHL F TFE HL RJH FR BIFUR.
3. XIATOTUU, TUX-XACTLE, CQ OIN I STAAH STTQCLY!
Have fun, and good luck! For hidden hints, highlight below.
In #1, N = D
In #2, L = R
In #3, X = F
Cryptogram Archive
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squire
Half-elven
Sep 8 2014, 1:23am
Post #2 of 14
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Wynnie! with cryptograms! what a ----- ------- of dear -------, for a --- -- ---!
[In reply to]
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Nice to have you back, Wynnie! And some challenging cryptograms; the third was the hardest, I thought.
1. "It cannot be doubted that we witness the meeting of dear friends."
Said by: Theoden
Said to: General audience of Riders and Gandalf
Chapter: Two Towers, "Road to Isengard"
2. "The sun is shining, and here we are together for a day or two at least."
Said by: Strider
Said to: Legolas and Gimli
Chapter: Two Towers, "Road to Isengard"
3. "Farewell, Elf-friend, it was a merry meeting!"
Said by: Goldberry
Said to: Frodo
Chapter: Fellowship of the Ring, "Fog on the Barrow-downs"
squire online:
RR Discussions: The Valaquenta, A Shortcut to Mushrooms, and Of Herbs and Stewed Rabbit
Lights! Action! Discuss on the Movie board!: 'A Journey in the Dark'. and 'Designing The Two Towers'.
Footeramas: The 3rd & 4th TORn Reading Room LotR Discussion and NOW the 1st BotR Discussion too! and "Tolkien would have LOVED it!"
squiretalk introduces the J.R.R. Tolkien Encyclopedia: A Reader's Diary
 = Forum has no new posts. Forum needs no new posts.
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Wynnie
Rohan
Sep 8 2014, 2:29am
Post #3 of 14
(342 views)
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I was afraid the last one was almost too short, but Goldberry doesn't get quoted too often and I liked throwing her into the mix.
Good to see there are still some familiar faces around here.
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Sep 8 2014, 2:54am
Post #4 of 14
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Great to see you back on the Boards, Wynnie! 
I remember these well - and that for many of them, if one knows the text well, then it's easy to pick up on the "rhythm" or "cadence" of the text, and use that as a guide to solving the puzzles. Also, some words are unmistakeably Tolkien's, such as a particular word in #3 (which is how I started solving that one).
Thank you, Wynnie!
1. "It cannot be doubted that we witness the meeting of dear friends."
Theoden to Gandalf and the others at the ruined gates of Isengard, in "The Road to Isengard".
2. "The sun is shining and here we are together for a day or two at least."
Hm. Not certain, but I think this is said by either Merry, Pippin, Aragorn, Legolas, or Gimli to the others as they have lunch above the ruined gates of Isengard in "Flotsam and Jetsam".
3. "Farewell, Elf-friend, it was a merry meeting"!
Gildor to Frodo as he leaves him in the Woody End, "A Shortcut to Mushrooms".
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Wynnie
Rohan
Sep 8 2014, 3:04am
Post #5 of 14
(335 views)
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for the attribution and chapter for #2 -- was only paying attention to the quotes themselves, not the extra credit. I've gotten rusty on all this, I'm afraid.
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Wynnie
Rohan
Sep 8 2014, 3:07am
Post #6 of 14
(333 views)
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since I saw you, m'dear!
Perfect on the quotes themselves, but I'm still waiting to see if anyone gets all the extra credit points. Will post official answers in a day or two, after more folks have had a crack at them.
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a.s.
Valinor
Sep 8 2014, 3:32am
Post #7 of 14
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WYNNIE! good to see you, I'm back after a long absence as well.
Well, I can get some of the extra credits, but probably not chapter citation:
1: It cannot be doubted that we witness the meeting of dear friends (Theoden in Isengard)
2. The sun is shining and here we are together for a day or two at least
3. Farewell, elf-friend, it was a merry meeting. (Goldberry to Frodo)
Now to peek.
Hah I was so wrong on number two attribution, at least according to Google search. I edited that and get NO extra credit for that one.
a.s.
"an seileachan"
(This post was edited by a.s. on Sep 8 2014, 3:38am)
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sador
Half-elven
Sep 8 2014, 7:08am
Post #8 of 14
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Just one question before playing:
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Are all three in the same code?
If they are, I might try without the hints.
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dernwyn
Forum Admin
/ Moderator
Sep 8 2014, 10:24am
Post #9 of 14
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All are different codes.
And notice: Wynnie has included the name of at least one dwarf when coding them, just for fun!
And there's a "theme" to them.
If you've got the English version of LotR just about memorized, you should be able to pick up on the characteristics of Tolkien's writing in them, and use that to help decode. (For example, in the third one: there's only one thing that hyphenated word could be, in the Middle-earth universe.)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"I desired dragons with a profound desire"
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Wynnie
Rohan
Sep 8 2014, 8:32pm
Post #11 of 14
(313 views)
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Good to see you!
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Wynnie
Rohan
Sep 8 2014, 8:35pm
Post #12 of 14
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... what your guess was.
Thanks for playing, and funny we should both wander back here around the same time.
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a.s.
Valinor
Sep 8 2014, 10:13pm
Post #13 of 14
(325 views)
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not Curious! 
I guessed it might be Aragorn and the hobbits in Isengard. WAY off. Possibly influenced by answer number one.
Sigh. Ya think ya know a book, and then ya have to cite something from memory.
a.s.
"an seileachan"
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Wynnie
Rohan
Sep 13 2014, 2:45pm
Post #14 of 14
(322 views)
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Congrats to squire, dernwyn, and a.s. for solving all three quotes quite quickly! The extra credit proved trickier, it seems (though perhaps I should be offering extra credit for closed-book attempts, when Google is so tempting). Everyone recognized Théoden at Isengard; no one remembered Pippin playing Pollyanna in Minas Tirith.
1. SV ERDDYV QO NYTQVON VLRV CO CSVDOBB VLO POOVSDA YM NORI MISODNB.
= It cannot be doubted that we witness the meeting of dear friends.
Théoden to Gandalf and others, The Road to Isengard (TTT)
2. RKI UPZ MU UKMZMZO, FZT KILI JI FLI RHOIRKIL WHL F TFE HL RJH FR BIFUR.
= The Sun is shining, and here we are together for a day or two at least.
Pippin to Merry, The Last Debate (RotK)
3. XIATOTUU, TUX-XACTLE, CQ OIN I STAAH STTQCLY!
= Farewell, Elf-friend, it was a merry meeting!
Goldberry to Frodo, Fog on the Barrow-Downs (FotR)
I had fun putting these together, and browsing around the boards. May have to start visiting more often again. Thanks for the warm welcome-back!
Cryptogram Archive
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