#167 · Friday, 22 May 2026

Ladder answer

• ALIVE 5 letters
• VIOLATE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• ELEVATION 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

ALIVE sits inside VIOLATE, which sits inside ELEVATION — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ILVEA · AVEOILT · TINOVLEEA.

LockCode answer: 3945

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 3295: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 3, 2, 9, 5 are in the code.
2. 7180 scored nothing, so 7, 1, 8, 0 are all out.
3. 8709: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 7, 0, 9 are in the code.
4. 1564: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 5, 6, 4 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 7 codes remain possible.

With 7 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.