#253 · Sunday, 16 August 2026

Ladder answer

• IDEAL 5 letters
• IRELAND 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• DECLARING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

IDEAL sits inside IRELAND, which sits inside DECLARING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ALDEI · NDIRLAE · DICLARGNE.

LockCode answer: 0568

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 8563: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 8, 5, 6, 3 are in the code.
2. 1247 scored nothing, so 1, 2, 4, 7 are all out.
3. 1920: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 1, 9, 2, 0 are in the code.
4. 6039: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 6, 0, 3, 9 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.