7-letter words with I as the 3rd letter and G as the 5th letter

Put I in the third slot and G in the fifth and you get 79 seven-letter words shaped like __I_G__. S opens 21 of them and T opens 13, while D closes 21 and R closes 19. Only 3 are in the common-word group, so most of the field is specialist vocabulary.

Key numbers for the __I_G__ frame

• 79 words match the frame; only 3 are common by frequency.
• S opens 21 words, T opens 13 and C opens 9.
• D closes 21 words, R closes 19 and S closes 18.
• VYINGLY scores 17; SWINGBY and WHIGGED follow at 16.
• Collins accepts 75, NWL2023 accepts 60 and ENABLE accepts 53.

Which endings should you try first?

D and R together close 40 of the 79 words, so test them before anything else. The D group includes past-tense forms such as CRINGED, BRIDGED and TWIGGED, and the R group includes TRIGGER, STINGER and WRINGER. S closes 18 words and E only 8.

Openings spread wider. S leads with 21, T has 13 and C has 9, so a rack holding S, T or C reaches 43 of the 79 words.

Where does this pattern get risky?

Just 3 of the 79 are common, and 64 carry a definition, so many entries are specialist vocabulary. Check your game's word list before you play VYINGLY or SWINGBY, since Collins accepts 75 of the matches and ENABLE only 53.

VYINGLY scores 17, while SWINGBY and WHIGGED score 16 and WRIGGLY, WHINGED and DYINGLY score 15. The average match is worth 11.2, so the leaders sit well above a typical play.

Does a double G help?