6-letter words with I as the 2nd letter and T as the 4th letter

T is the third busiest fourth-slot letter once I sits second, behind only I and E. LITTLE, LISTEN, SISTER and WINTER all fit the frame, and so do FILTER, BITTER and KITTEN. Eleven different letters open ten or more matches, which keeps the search space wide.

What the 187 I-and-T matches look like

• 187 matches put I in slot two and T in slot four.
• Only I, E and T pass 180 in that fourth slot, and T trails E by 35.
• 45 matches end in D and 39 in R, so those two letters cover 84.
• Thirty-one matches finish in -TER, from WINTER and SISTER to JITTER.
• Six words score 15 or better, led by ZIPTOP on 19.

Why so many of these words end in D or R

D closes 45 matches and R closes 39, which together account for 84 of the 187. LIFTED, LISTED, FITTED and HINTED show the D ending, while WINTER, SISTER, FILTER and VICTOR carry the R.

The -TER group is the largest single ending inside that pair: 31 words, split between everyday finds such as WINTER, SISTER, FILTER, JITTER and BITTER and filler such as TILTER, KILTER and NIPTER.

The scorers worth remembering

Six words clear 15 points, a big haul for such an ordinary-looking frame. ZIPTOP reaches 19, SIXTHS and WILTJA reach 16, and FILTHY, FIFTHS and QINTAR each finish on 15.

The average sits at 8.9, so those totals come from a few friendly tiles: Z twice, plus J, Q and the F-H pair in FILTHY and FIFTHS. Only 30 of the 187 rank as common, so the rest of the list is glossary material rather than everyday vocabulary.

Working the frame from the fourth slot