Cipher · Practice · Hints

Cipher #230 hints — Tuesday, 18 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.

W·S·U·Z·S·S·
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 2 and 5 and 6.

Hint 2 — Where to start

It begins with D and ends with E. 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: DEG…

Show the answer to Cipher #230

The word was DEGREE.

WDSEUGZRSESE

Which means the wheel mapped D→W, E→S, G→U, R→Z.

Play today's Cipher →

Want to try this one yourself instead? Play #230 as practice — no hints, and it won't touch your streak.