#40 · Thursday, 15 January 2026

Ladder answer

• MEDIA 5 letters
• MEDICAL 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• MEDICINAL 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

MEDIA sits inside MEDICAL, which sits inside MEDICINAL — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: EMADI · ACILDEM · IECMLIDNA.

LockCode answer: 7031

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 3107 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 6947: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 6, 9, 4, 7 are in the code.
3. 3187: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 3, 1, 8, 7 are in the code.
4. 0415: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 0, 4, 1, 5 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.