#126 · Saturday, 11 April 2026

Ladder answer

• STONE 5 letters
• LONGEST 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• SINGLETON 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

STONE sits inside LONGEST, which sits inside SINGLETON — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: OTSEN · SNGEOLT · GOLNTNESI.

LockCode answer: 1970

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 4973: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 4, 9, 7, 3 are in the code.
2. 5376: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 5, 3, 7, 6 are in the code.
3. 9347: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 9, 3, 4, 7 are in the code.
4. 9318: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 9, 3, 1, 8 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 8 codes remain possible.

With 8 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.