5-letter words with R as the 1st letter and L as the 4th letter

Only 29 dictionary-backed matches carry R in the opening square and L in the fourth, roughly a quarter of the 114 you see when S takes the first slot. Seven sit inside the 25,000 most frequent English words, and 21 have full definitions. The pattern rewards anyone who knows the -LY tail, because seven words end that way and none scores below 8.

How many 5-letter words have R first and L fourth?

• The combined tournament lists hold 29 matches.
• Collins carries 28 of the 29, NWL2023 has 22 and ENABLE 20.
• Seven words are common enough for everyday use.
• REPLY, RALLY, RIFLE and REALM double as Wordle answers.
• RAWLY and REFLY lead Scrabble scoring at 11 points each.

The seven -LY endings carry the Scrabble value

Sort the 29 words by their last letter and three groups appear: 11 close with S, seven with E and seven with Y. The Y group holds every word that ends in -LY, from REPLY and RALLY to RAWLY, REDLY, REFLY, ROILY and RUMLY. That suffix matters because a final Y costs 4 points and turns a thin consonant frame into a double-digit score.

Scoring follows the same split. RAWLY and REFLY top the list at 11, REPLY and RUMLY reach 10, and REDLY adds 9; the S-ending majority, including ROLLS, RAILS and REELS, never passes 8. An S tile is easy to place, but the Y ending is where the cheap points sit.

Which four words should a Wordle player learn first?