cryptogram

Noun

1. Encrypted text.
   • It's a big help in solving cryptograms if you know how a cryptogram is constructed. The constructor normally uses two alphabets, one for plaintext, one for the substitute cipher letters. - 1981, Norma Gleason,...
   • To anyone who does not know the key, the five characters of the cryptogram are different but the genuine receiver is in no danger of confusion. - 2002, Fred Piper, Sean Murphy, Cryptography: A Very Short Introduction,...
   • Indeed, Willaert was unable to read Charles's musical notation because it was actually a musical cryptogram passing for a madrigal, making absolutely no sense to a mere musician's naked eye, despite his towering talent....
2. A type of word puzzle in which text encoded by a simple cipher is to be decoded.
   • You already know this if you are an amateur codebreaker. On the comics pages of many newspapers, you will find a little puzzle known as a cryptogram. It's usually a famous quotation that has been encrypted in a very...