#164 · Tuesday, 19 May 2026

Ladder answer

• SPLIT 5 letters
• PLASTIC 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• SPECIALTY 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

SPLIT sits inside PLASTIC, which sits inside SPECIALTY — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: TPILS · TCAPLIS · TELSIPCYA.

LockCode answer: 2491

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 2390: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 3, 9, 0 are in the code.
2. 5306 scored nothing, so 5, 3, 0, 6 are all out.
3. 0952: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 0, 9, 5, 2 are in the code.
4. 8931: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 9, 3, 1 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 2 codes remain possible.

With 2 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.