#14 · Saturday, 20 December 2025

Ladder answer

• NEVER 5 letters
• VETERAN 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• ADVENTURE 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

NEVER sits inside VETERAN, which sits inside ADVENTURE — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RNVEE · VREATEN · NREUVDAET.

LockCode answer: 5104

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 7104: 3 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 3 of 7, 1, 0, 4 are in the code.
2. 0791: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 0, 7, 9, 1 are in the code.
3. 4079: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 4, 0, 7, 9 are in the code.
4. 2946: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 2, 9, 4, 6 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 6 codes remain possible.

With 6 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.