Hard cryptograms: long quotes, one starting letter
Hard quotes are the longest in regular play: 37 to 94 letters, with a median of 62, and they use about 18 different letters each. Only one letter is revealed at the start. The length works in your favour, though, because a long quote gives you reliable letter counts and many repeated words.
Build a frequency table first
Before placing anything, note the five most common cipher letters. In English text of this length, E, T, A, O, I and N together make up roughly half of all letters. Your five most common cipher letters almost certainly come from that group.
Hunt for repeated words
Long quotes repeat short words. If the same three-letter cipher word appears twice, it is very likely THE or AND. Solve it once and the letters spread through the whole quote.
Test hypotheses, then commit
At this level you will often have two plausible readings. Place the more likely one and look for a word it breaks. A single impossible word, such as one with no vowel, means you should undo it. Keep track of which letters you are sure of and which are guesses, so you know what to undo.
Frequently asked questions
How many letters are revealed on hard?
One: the most frequent letter in that quote.
Are hard quotes harder to recognise?
Often, yes. Hard includes more scientific, historical and technical lines, which are less likely to be familiar than inspirational quotes.