#152 · Thursday, 7 May 2026

Ladder answer

• DRIED 5 letters
• RESIDED 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• DISAGREED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

DRIED sits inside RESIDED, which sits inside DISAGREED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: IRDED · IEERDSD · ADISDREGE.

LockCode answer: 5103

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 5604: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 5, 6, 0, 4 are in the code.
2. 0561: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 0, 5, 6, 1 are in the code.
3. 8041: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 0, 4, 1 are in the code.
4. 4920: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 9, 2, 0 are in the code.
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.