#289 · Monday, 21 September 2026

Ladder answer

• CREED 5 letters
• CENTRED 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• PRECEDENT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

CREED sits inside CENTRED, which sits inside PRECEDENT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: RDCEE · ERNCTDE · ENEERCDPT.

LockCode answer: 3829

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 9283 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 7056 scored nothing, so 7, 0, 5, 6 are all out.
3. 5273: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 5, 2, 7, 3 are in the code.
4. 6147 scored nothing, so 6, 1, 4, 7 are all out.
5. After all clues, 9 codes remain possible.

With 9 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: NOTE