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

T is the second-busiest fifth slot once I sits third, 12 matches ahead of L. Two endings do nearly all the work here: S closes 72 matches and Y closes 30, leaving only 16 words with anything else. CHINTZ tops the list on 20 points and BLINTZ follows on 17.

The shape of a 118-word list

• 118 matches hold I in slot three and T in slot five.
• Seventy-two end in S and 30 in Y, so 102 share just two endings.
• Thirty matches finish in -TY, nearly all of them adjectives.
• Q opens seven matches, level with P and W.
• CHINTZ tops the list on 20, with BLINTZ next on 17.
• Only 17 matches count as common, so tournament words dominate.

Two endings carry 102 matches

S closes 72 matches and Y closes 30, which leaves only 16 words with any other ending. POINTS, SHIRTS, SAINTS, PRINTS, SHIFTS, JOINTS, PAINTS, SKIRTS and TWISTS all show the S pattern.

The Y group turns adjectival: GUILTY, GRITTY, POINTY, DAINTY, FEISTY, FLIRTY, SHIFTY and THIRTY each finish in -TY. Only five matches close on E, so a final E is a rare signal in this pattern.

Scores built on Q and Z

CHINTZ reaches 20 and BLINTZ 17, and both end in -NTZ, so the Z does all the heavy lifting. Eight matches sit on 15: QUILTS, SHIFTY, QUINTA, QUIETS, SWIFTY, QUINTE, QUINTS and QUIRTS.

Q opens seven of the 118, every one beginning QU-, and the average sits at 10. Only the Z pair passes 17, so this frame rewards a single big tile rather than steady play.

Trying the -TY family first