#13 · Friday, 19 December 2025

Ladder answer

• CLEAN 5 letters
• NUCLEAR 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• RELUCTANT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

CLEAN sits inside NUCLEAR, which sits inside RELUCTANT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: LACNE · NEARULC · TNACUTRLE.

LockCode answer: 1485

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 1408: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 1, 4, 0, 8 are in the code.
2. 4270: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 2, 7, 0 are in the code.
3. 8762: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 7, 6, 2 are in the code.
4. 4629: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 6, 2, 9 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.