6-letter words with I as the 3rd letter and L as the 5th letter

Two-thirds of this list closes on S or Y, so the final slot is the fastest way in. SKILLS, TRIALS, TRIPLE, SHIELD and EDIBLE carry the familiar end, and 31 matches are -LY words such as MAINLY, FAIRLY, THINLY and CHICLY. The ceiling is modest at 16 points and the average is 9.7.

How the I-and-L list closes

• 106 matches put I in slot three and L in slot five.
• Thirty-six end in S and 31 in Y, so 67 close on one of those.
• Thirty-one matches are -LY words, and eight of those double the L.
• T opens 21 matches and S opens 18.
• CHICLY tops the set at 16, with QUILLS, WHIRLY and WHILLY on 15.

The -LY endings cover a third of the list

Thirty-one matches end in -LY, among them ACIDLY, AVIDLY, CHICLY, FAIRLY, GLIBLY, GRIMLY, GRISLY, MAINLY, PRIMLY, SLIMLY, THINLY, TRIPLY and VAINLY. Rarer forms fill the rest: FAINLY, LAIDLY, NAIFLY and TRIGLY rarely appear outside word lists.

Eight of the 31 double the L: CHILLY, EVILLY, FRILLY, STILLY, SKILLY, TWILLY, WHILLY and RAILLY. The other big ending is S, where SKILLS, DRILLS, SPILLS and STILLS are the everyday members.

Openings and the modest ceiling

T opens 21 matches and S opens 18, so two letters account for 39 of the 106. CHICLY is the highest scorer at 16, and QUILLS, WHIRLY and WHILLY follow on 15, all riding on Q, W or Y.

Collins keeps all 106 matches, NWL2023 keeps 82 and ENABLE 81. Fifteen words count as common, among them SKILLS, TRIALS, TRIPLE, SHIELD and EDIBLE, but the 9.7 average marks this as a cheap play rather than a score-hunter.

Reading the final slot first