6-letter words with L as the 2nd letter and X as the 4th letter

The pattern leaves little room for familiar vocabulary: just one of the 22 matches ranks among the top 25,000 English words by frequency. FLEXED, KLAXON, FLUXED and FLIXED share the top score at 17 points. The list has 22 Collins entries, 18 in NWL2023 and 16 in ENABLE, so game dictionaries do not agree on every match.

At a glance: the L-and-X pattern

• There are 22 six-letter words with L second and X fourth across the tournament dictionaries.
• F begins 10 matches, more than any other first letter; P is next with four.
• S ends nine words, while N ends four and D and R each end three.
• FLEXED, KLAXON, FLUXED and FLIXED top the score list at 17 points each.
• Only one match is common by the frequency cutoff, and 15 have a definition.

Why do so many matches begin with F?

FLEXED, FLEXOR, FLEXES, FLUXES, FLAXEN and FLIXES show how often this pattern starts with F. Ten of the 22 matches begin that way, while PLEXUS, PLEXES, PLEXAL and PLEXOR make P the runner-up with four.

The endings cluster too: nine matches finish in S, including FLEXES, FLUXES and PLEXES. ELIXIR and FLEXOR end in R, while KLAXON is one of four N-ending choices. Those recurring endings can narrow a clue quickly.

Which matches score highest, and what should you watch for?

FLEXED, KLAXON, FLUXED and FLIXED each score 17 points in the scoring data, with FLEXOR, FLUXES and FLEXES at 16. The X carries much of the scoring weight, so placing it on a premium letter square can matter more than chasing a familiar-looking word.

The strongest scoring choices are not necessarily familiar: only one match is common, and seven of the 22 do not appear in ENABLE. Check your game's word list before relying on a less familiar entry; Collins has all 22, while NWL2023 includes 18.