5-letter words with S as the 3rd letter and H as the 4th letter

The fixed middle pair leaves only the first and final letters open, and the endings are strikingly uneven. Y closes 18 matches, while I and A close seven and five. Only three words qualify as common by frequency, so familiar examples such as sushi sit beside less familiar entries.

The __SH_ pattern at a glance

• 36 tournament-list entries fit the pattern __SH_.
• Collins includes 35; NWL2023 includes 24; ENABLE includes 19.
• Y is the final letter in 18 entries, exactly half the set.
• Fishy and washy each score 14 points in Scrabble.

Why do most matches end in Y?

Y closes exactly half of the 36 matches: 18 end in Y, compared with seven ending in I and five in A. The remaining endings are O and T, with two apiece, plus one each ending in M and U. That split makes the last tile a strong narrowing clue: test Y early when your board confirms __SH_.

Among the opening letters, D leads with five words; M, P, and W follow with four each. If the first position is unknown, those three starts offer more candidates than B or G, which contribute two apiece.

5-letter words with S as the 3rd and H as the 4th letter

The 36 5-letter words with S as the 3rd letter and H as the 4th letter vary in familiarity and game value. Sushi, fishy, pushy, bushy, mushy, and cushy are recognizable; only three entries qualify as common by the frequency measure.

Collins has 35 of these words, while NWL2023 has 24 and ENABLE has 19. Check your game's dictionary before banking on a less familiar fit.

Fishy and washy lead the Scrabble scores at 14 points. Pushy, bushy, mushy, and cushy each score 13. The repeated -shy ending means a rack with Y can turn a pattern solve into a scoring choice; the most familiar fit is not necessarily the highest scorer.

Changing the fourth letter while keeping S in the third position makes a much larger list: 137 matches use E, and 108 use T. Keeping H but changing the third letter to C gives 60. This __SH_ pattern is a narrower search than those nearby letter combinations.