#251 · Friday, 14 August 2026

Ladder answer

• SWING 5 letters
• WISHING 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• SWITCHING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

SWING sits inside WISHING, which sits inside SWITCHING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: IGSWN · GWHSNII · HCIGNWSTI.

LockCode answer: 3907

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 2901: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 2, 9, 0, 1 are in the code.
2. 8614 scored nothing, so 8, 6, 1, 4 are all out.
3. 9418: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 9, 4, 1, 8 are in the code.
4. 7684: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 7, 6, 8, 4 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.