#52 · Tuesday, 27 January 2026

Ladder answer

• THING 5 letters
• TONIGHT 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• FORTNIGHT 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

THING sits inside TONIGHT, which sits inside FORTNIGHT — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: INGHT · OITGTHN · ITNOGRTFH.

LockCode answer: 7523

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 8941 scored nothing, so 8, 9, 4, 1 are all out.
2. 0723: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 0, 7, 2, 3 are in the code.
3. 1082: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 1, 0, 8, 2 are in the code.
4. 9601 scored nothing, so 9, 6, 0, 1 are all out.
5. After all clues, 3 codes remain possible.

With 3 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.