The word "cipher" refers to a secret code or a system used for encoding messages. It involves replacing letters or characters with different symbols to make the message unreadable unless a person knows how to decipher or decode it. Full definition
Overall, Don Jon has its problems — it doesn't explore its issues nearly as elegantly or evenhandedly as I'd like (the women get very little internal lives of their own, instead acting as ciphers for Jon to bounce his porn / mommy issues off), and many elements strike me as overly precious or derivative of other works. (alcohollywood.com)
This also increases the attractiveness of the other, since we do not view our partners as static ciphers of our imagination. (southshorefamilyhealthcollaborative.com)
Time stands still, yet the hilltop and lake serve as ciphers for a place of significance to be speculated about in both narrative and psychological terms. (artzine.com)