#70 · Saturday, 14 February 2026

Ladder answer

• ELDER 5 letters
• FEDERAL 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• FLATTERED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

ELDER sits inside FEDERAL, which sits inside FLATTERED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: DRLEE · EEFADLR · RAETDFELT.

LockCode answer: 1056

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 0145: 0 in the right place, 3 in the wrong place — 3 of 0, 1, 4, 5 are in the code.
2. 1752: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 7, 5, 2 are in the code.
3. 7528: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 7, 5, 2, 8 are in the code.
4. 4910: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 4, 9, 1, 0 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 6 codes remain possible.

With 6 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.