#155 · Sunday, 10 May 2026

Ladder answer

• POINT 5 letters
• CAPTION 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• OPTICIANS 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

POINT sits inside CAPTION, which sits inside OPTICIANS — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: NOTIP · NTIOPCA · IOAISNCTP.

LockCode answer: 9143

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 1974: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 1, 9, 7, 4 are in the code.
2. 1435: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 1, 4, 3, 5 are in the code.
3. 0628 scored nothing, so 0, 6, 2, 8 are all out.
4. 8146: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 1, 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.