#277 · Wednesday, 9 September 2026

Ladder answer

• GREAT 5 letters
• STRANGE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• STREAMING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

GREAT sits inside STRANGE, which sits inside STREAMING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: TGAER · GTRAENS · MSERGNITA.

LockCode answer: 9450

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 9352: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 9, 3, 5, 2 are in the code.
2. 1398: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 1, 3, 9, 8 are in the code.
3. 4137: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 4, 1, 3, 7 are in the code.
4. 3516: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 5, 1, 6 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 10 codes remain possible.

With 10 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.

Lumen answer: BUTTERFLY