6-letter words with H as the 1st letter and Y as the 6th letter

Two endings carry just over half of the group. Thirteen words close in -ly, from HIGHLY and HARDLY to HUMBLY, and another 13 finish in -ey, the tail behind HOCKEY, HICKEY and HENLEY. H is a modest opener for a Y-final six-letter word: 47 matches next to 291 for S, 158 for C and 54 for L.

Six-letter words starting with H and ending in Y

• Forty-seven matches, every one of them closing on Y for four points.
• Thirteen end in -ly and 13 in -ey, so those two tails hold 26 of the 47.
• HAZILY leads at 21 points, with HAWKEY on 19 and HACKLY, HICKEY and HOCKEY on 18.
• Nineteen words clear 16 points, the richest pocket in any H-first frame.
• Fourteen count as common words, headed by HARDLY, HEARTY, HOCKEY and HUNGRY.

Which of the H-first, Y-last words score best?

HAZILY is the outlier at 21, the only match that holds a Z. HAWKEY follows on 19, then HACKLY, HICKEY and HOCKEY share 18, and HITCHY, HUMEFY and HUMIFY sit on 17. Eight words in all reach 17 or better.

The leaders lean on familiar letters rather than exotic ones. HOCKEY and HICKEY share the -ckey tail, HIGHLY and HUMBLY take a clean -ly, and HAWKEY pairs a W with a K. Only ten of the 47 rest in Collins alone, so the strong scorers all survive a North American word check.

What the -ly and -ey tails have in common

Both tails park Y in the last slot, worth four points by itself, and both gather words most players already know: HIGHLY, HARDLY, HOURLY and HUGELY in the -ly set, HOCKEY, HICKEY, HENLEY and HURLEY in the -ey set. The two groups together fill 26 slots out of 47.

The exotic members are the ones to notice. HOKILY, HUBBLY and HOSTLY look invented but sit in all three tournament lists, while HEARSY, HOBDAY and HOSTRY live in Collins only. HENLEY and HURLEY get dealt as surnames far more often than as plays.

Playing from the Y