#98 · Saturday, 14 March 2026

Ladder answer

• THERE 5 letters
• WEATHER 7 letters — adds two letters to the rung below
• WATERSHED 9 letters — adds two letters to the rung below

THERE sits inside WEATHER, which sits inside WATERSHED — the two letters added at each rung are the whole puzzle. Scrambles shown that day: EHRTE · ERHTWEA · ASEWTHRED.

LockCode answer: 1509

The clues and what each one tells you:

1. 9510 has every digit of the code — only the order is wrong.
2. 4236 scored nothing, so 4, 2, 3, 6 are all out.
3. 3784 scored nothing, so 3, 7, 8, 4 are all out.
4. 3476 scored nothing, so 3, 4, 7, 6 are all out.
5. After all clues, 8 codes remain possible.

With 8 candidates left, a good second guess splits them by feedback so the third guess is forced. Read the LockCode strategy guide for the method.