How to Solve Cryptograms

        Begin to solve any puzzle by scanning the entire puzzle
     for clues.  Are there any one-letter words?  They must be
     either "a" or "I".  If lower-case, it must be an "a".  Look
     for repeated three-letter words.  If the first two letters 
     are repeated in that combination elsewhere, the word may be
     "the".  A four-letter word with identical first and last letters
     is likely to be "that".  Are there any apostrophes?  A single
     letter afterward is likely to be "s", "t", or "d".  If it's
     "t", the letter before the apostrophe is likely to be "n".

        If this doesn't get you started, you can examine the 
     "Letter Count" chart available from the "Help" menu.  The
     most frequent letters in English are "e" and "t", followed by
     "a", "o", "n", "r", "i", and "s".  This frequency will not hold
     up exactly in short passages, but it will usually be close.
     Look at the first and last letters of words.  "E" and "t" both
     occur often at the end of words, but "t" occurs at the beginning
     far more often.  "A", "o", and "i" occur rarely at the beginning
     of words and almost never at the end.  "N", "r", and "s" occur 
     frequently in both positions.  When "w" occurs, it is often at
     the beginning of a word and frequently paired with "h".  When
     "y" occurs, it is often at the end.

        The most common two-letter combinations are "th" and "he".  If
     your most-common combinations are combined in one word, it is 
     probably "the".
        
        Don't be afraid to guess; you can erase all your wrong guesses
     with the click of a mouse.  Two-letter words are fairly easy to
     guess, once you have the consonant.  All words must have a vowel,
     so if you still need to solve a common vowel, check the words 
     with no solved letters in them and see what they have in common.
     Remember that the King James language is likely to have more words
     ending in "th" than usual.

        In "Scrypt-o-grams", as in anything else, skill comes through
     practice.  As you learn what combinations imply which letters, you 
     will learn to solve the puzzles faster and faster.  Happy solving!