WordBreakfast

Cryptoquip Answer Today

Three hints for today's Cryptoquip — a few letters, the first words, then the joke — and the decoded quip one tap later.

Hint 1 · Three more letters

Besides today's clue (D = P): S = O, N = E, A = L.

Hint 2 · The first words

It begins “WHEN LOTS …”

Hint 3 · The joke

Picture the classic black-and-white square game many folks do with pencil and coffee. Keep its usual two-part name, but swap the last half for its rhyming cousin, one meaning busy, crowded hurry.

Show today’s answer
  • WHEN LOTS OF PEOPLE ARE CLAMORING TO FILL IN A GRID BASED ON CLUES, THAT'S A CROSSWORD BUSTLE.

The punchline swaps the "puzzle" in "crossword puzzle" for "bustle," a near-rhyme meaning noisy, busy commotion. It fits the picture of crowds clamoring to get at the same grid.

Today’s other hints

How our Cryptoquip hints work

  1. Hint 1 gives you letters

    Three more letter pairs on top of the newspaper's clue, picked from the letters that appear most often.

  2. Hint 2 starts the sentence

    The first two words. With those and the clue, most of the cipher falls into place.

  3. Hint 3 is about the joke

    What kind of pun the punchline makes, without its words. The full quip waits behind the last tap.