#80 · Tuesday, 24 February 2026

Ladder answer

• GIVEN 5 letters
• VINEGAR 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• ENGRAVING 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

GIVEN sits inside VINEGAR, which sits inside ENGRAVING — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: VNGIE · GENIVRA · RNGVNAGEI.

LockCode answer: 4376

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 4398: 2 in the right place, 0 in the wrong place — 2 of 4, 3, 9, 8 are in the code.
2. 0298 scored nothing, so 0, 2, 9, 8 are all out.
3. 3249: 0 in the right place, 2 in the wrong place — 2 of 3, 2, 4, 9 are in the code.
4. 8716: 1 in the right place, 1 in the wrong place — 2 of 8, 7, 1, 6 are in the code.
5. After all clues, 2 codes remain possible.

With 2 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.