Cipher · Practice · Hints

Cipher #215 hints — Monday, 3 August 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.

D·Z·M·L·I·D·
Hint 1 — The shape of it

Today's word has 5 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 3 and 4.

Hint 2 — Where to start

It begins with S and ends with S. 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 more than one vowel and its letters are all fairly ordinary. First three letters: STA…

Show the answer to Cipher #215

The word was STAIRS.

DSZTMALIIRDS

Which means the wheel mapped S→D, T→Z, A→M, I→L, R→I.

Play today's Cipher →

Want to try this one yourself instead? Play #215 as practice — no hints, and it won't touch your streak.