#145 · Thursday, 30 April 2026

Ladder answer

• POINT 5 letters
• PORTION 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PROMOTING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

POINT sits inside PORTION, which sits inside PROMOTING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: TNOIP · RNOPOIT · OGONMIRPT.

LockCode answer: 4751

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 1795: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 1, 7, 9, 5 are in the code.
2. 3958: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 9, 5, 8 are in the code.
3. 3895: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 8, 9, 5 are in the code.
4. 0986 scored nothing, so 0, 9, 8, 6 are all out.
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.