#103 · Thursday, 19 March 2026

Ladder answer

• DRIVE 5 letters
• REVISED 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• ADVERTISE 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

DRIVE sits inside REVISED, which sits inside ADVERTISE — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: IDVRE · VDSEREI · EATDEISVR.

LockCode answer: 0471

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 7140 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 6140: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 6, 1, 4, 0 are in the code.
3. 6950: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 6, 9, 5, 0 are in the code.
4. 9501: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 9, 5, 0, 1 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 4 codes remain possible.

With 4 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.