#239 · Sunday, 2 August 2026

Ladder answer

• IMAGE 5 letters
• MEANING 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• ALIGNMENT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

IMAGE sits inside MEANING, which sits inside ALIGNMENT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: IGAEM · GNNEAIM · TNEGALMIN.

LockCode answer: 3508

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 5830 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 6439: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 6, 4, 3, 9 are in the code.
3. 1847: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 1, 8, 4, 7 are in the code.
4. 1980: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 9, 8, 0 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.