#140 · Saturday, 25 April 2026

Ladder answer

• THERE 5 letters
• THEATRE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• HEARTBEAT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

THERE sits inside THEATRE, which sits inside HEARTBEAT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: EERHT · ETTEHRA · HTBREEATA.

LockCode answer: 3509

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 3570: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 3, 5, 7, 0 are in the code.
2. 7310: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 7, 3, 1, 0 are in the code.
3. 4730: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 4, 7, 3, 0 are in the code.
4. 2753: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 7, 5, 3 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.