#47 · Thursday, 22 January 2026

Ladder answer

• GIANT 5 letters
• VINTAGE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• ELEVATING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

GIANT sits inside VINTAGE, which sits inside ELEVATING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ATGNI · INEAGTV · TIGVALENE.

LockCode answer: 6314

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 1326: 1 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 3 of 1, 3, 2, 6 are in the code.
2. 4196: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 4, 1, 9, 6 are in the code.
3. 3825: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 3, 8, 2, 5 are in the code.
4. 3689: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 3, 6, 8, 9 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.