#216 · Friday, 10 July 2026

Ladder answer

• NOISE 5 letters
• PENSION 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• EXPANSION 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

NOISE sits inside PENSION, which sits inside EXPANSION — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ENOIS · OESPNIN · IOESAXNNP.

LockCode answer: 1730

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 7310 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 6452 scored nothing, so 6, 4, 5, 2 are all out.
3. 6958 scored nothing, so 6, 9, 5, 8 are all out.
4. 0286: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 0, 2, 8, 6 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 6 codes remain possible.

With 6 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.