#180 · Thursday, 4 June 2026

Ladder answer

• WHOSE 5 letters
• SOMEHOW 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• WHOLESOME 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

WHOSE sits inside SOMEHOW, which sits inside WHOLESOME — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: SEOHW · SWMOHOE · HOSLWEOME.

LockCode answer: 3851

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 3781: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 3, 7, 8, 1 are in the code.
2. 8792: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 7, 9, 2 are in the code.
3. 7081: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 7, 0, 8, 1 are in the code.
4. 1607: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 1, 6, 0, 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.