#221 · Wednesday, 15 July 2026

Ladder answer

• SERVE 5 letters
• REVERSE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PRESERVED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

SERVE sits inside REVERSE, which sits inside PRESERVED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: SRVEE · RRVEESE · EERPEDSRV.

LockCode answer: 2947

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 4792 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 8532: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 8, 5, 3, 2 are in the code.
3. 1386 scored nothing, so 1, 3, 8, 6 are all out.
4. 9415: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 9, 4, 1, 5 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.