Cipher · Practice · Hints

Cipher #195 hints — Tuesday, 14 July 2026

Stuck on today's wheel? Here are three nudges that get harder, then the answer at the very bottom. Nothing above the last section spoils the word.

Gentle band — Monday and Tuesday are the kindest puzzles of the week.

The ciphertext

This is what the board shows you before any guess. Repeated symbols mean repeated letters.

A·X·X·A·Y·R·
Hint 1 — The shape of it

Today's word has 4 different letters across six positions, so one letter appears twice — look at the ciphertext and you can see exactly where. The vowels sit at positions 1 and 4.

Hint 2 — Where to start

It begins with E and ends with T. If you can place either of those, the wheel hands you that mapping and the ciphertext starts reading back at you.

Hint 3 — Narrowing it down

The word contains a single vowel sound and its letters are all fairly ordinary. First three letters: EFF…

Show the answer to Cipher #195

The word was EFFECT.

AEXFXFAEYCRT

Which means the wheel mapped E→A, F→X, C→Y, T→R.

Play today's Cipher →

Want to try this one yourself instead? Play #195 as practice — no hints, and it won't touch your streak.