#39 · Wednesday, 14 January 2026

Ladder answer

• RANGE 5 letters
• HEARING 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• SEARCHING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

RANGE sits inside HEARING, which sits inside SEARCHING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: GNAER · AINHGER · NCERGSAIH.

LockCode answer: 1796

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 7694: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 7, 6, 9, 4 are in the code.
2. 5286: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 5, 2, 8, 6 are in the code.
3. 3801: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 8, 0, 1 are in the code.
4. 7460: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 7, 4, 6, 0 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 4 codes remain possible.

With 4 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.