#75 · Thursday, 19 February 2026

Ladder answer

• ALIGN 5 letters
• LANDING 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• UNLOADING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

ALIGN sits inside LANDING, which sits inside UNLOADING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: GLNIA · ALDGNIN · ONUILNGAD.

LockCode answer: 0371

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 5381: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 5, 3, 8, 1 are in the code.
2. 2579: 1 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 1 of 2, 5, 7, 9 are in the code.
3. 1935: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 9, 3, 5 are in the code.
4. 1435: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 1, 4, 3, 5 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 5 codes remain possible.

With 5 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.