#18 · Wednesday, 24 December 2025

Ladder answer

• NURSE 5 letters
• SURGEON 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• YOUNGSTER 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

NURSE sits inside SURGEON, which sits inside YOUNGSTER — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: NUERS · RSENGUO · TEYSOGNRU.

LockCode answer: 4218

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 3718: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 3, 7, 1, 8 are in the code.
2. 8621: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 8, 6, 2, 1 are in the code.
3. 1397: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 1, 3, 9, 7 are in the code.
4. 2817: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 2, 8, 1, 7 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.