#8 · Sunday, 14 December 2025

Ladder answer

• CLEAR 5 letters
• REPLACE 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• REPLICATE 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

CLEAR sits inside REPLACE, which sits inside REPLICATE — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: ECLRA · EACERPL · RAIEEPTCL.

LockCode answer: 9134

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 6139: 2 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 3 of 6, 1, 3, 9 are in the code.
2. 5820 scored nothing, so 5, 8, 2, 0 are all out.
3. 7840: 0 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 1 of 7, 8, 4, 0 are in the code.
4. 7910: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 7, 9, 1, 0 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 7 codes remain possible.

With 7 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.