#235 · Wednesday, 29 July 2026

Ladder answer

• TRIED 5 letters
• RETIRED 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• RETRIEVED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

TRIED sits inside RETIRED, which sits inside RETRIEVED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: IEDRT · RREIDET · TRVIEREDE.

LockCode answer: 3402

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 4230 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 7618 scored nothing, so 7, 6, 1, 8 are all out.
3. 4759: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 7, 5, 9 are in the code.
4. 3920: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 3, 9, 2, 0 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.