#165 · Wednesday, 20 May 2026

Ladder answer

• THINK 5 letters
• KITCHEN 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• THICKNESS 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

THINK sits inside KITCHEN, which sits inside THICKNESS — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: HTKNI · KCEITNH · KEISTNCSH.

LockCode answer: 8516

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 8156 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 7943 scored nothing, so 7, 9, 4, 3 are all out.
3. 7490 scored nothing, so 7, 4, 9, 0 are all out.
4. 3471: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 4, 7, 1 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 5 codes remain possible.

With 5 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.