cryptic vs hieroglyphic

cryptic

noun
  • A cryptic crossword puzzle. 

adj
  • Involving use of a code or cipher. 

  • Apparently identical, but actually genetically distinct. 

  • Serving as camouflage. 

  • Living in a cavity or small cave. 

  • Well camouflaged; having good camouflage. 

  • Mystified or of an obscure nature. 

  • Having hidden (unapparent) meaning. 

  • Of a crossword puzzle, or a clue in such a puzzle, using, in addition to definitions, wordplay such as anagrams, homophones and hidden words to indicate solutions. 

hieroglyphic

noun
  • Undecipherable handwriting or secret symbol. 

  • Any symbol used in this system; a hieroglyph. 

  • A writing system of ancient Egypt, Minoans, Maya and other civilizations, using pictorial symbols to represent individual sounds as a rebus 

adj
  • difficult to decipher 

  • of, relating to, or written with this system of symbols 

How often have the words cryptic and hieroglyphic occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )