7-letter words with M as the 2nd letter and S as the 6th letter

Few seven-letter patterns give you a tidy three-way tie at the top, but this one does. Three spellings of one idea share the best score, and nothing else on the list comes within a point. With the S locked in sixth place, a single final tile decides almost every word.

The M____S_ frame at a glance

• 30 words fit, and 6 of them are common English.
• A and I each open 12 words; E opens 4.
• E closes 12 words, T closes 8 and Y closes 3.
• EMBASSY, AMBASSY and AMPASSY tie at 14 points.
• 19 have a dictionary definition, and the average score is 11.1.

Why do three words tie at the top?

They are spelling variants. EMBASSY is the standard form, while AMBASSY and AMPASSY are Collins alternatives for the same word. Each scores 14, because swapping a vowel or a P for a B changes the tile values only slightly.

That trio is a puzzle-solver's gift, and it is the only tie in the table above 13 points. If your frame matches and the last letter is Y, you have three live options before you need any other idea.

What do the endings tell you?

E and T together close 20 of the 30. E gives IMPULSE, IMPASSE, IMMENSE and IMMERSE, and T gives AMONGST, IMAGIST and IMPREST. The rest are scattered across the alphabet, with no letter beyond E and T closing more than three words.

Y closes three words, A, M and S close two each, and O closes one. A clue that describes a person with a belief or a craft points to -IST, as in imagist or amorist, so test T before the long tail. Y deserves a look too whenever the clue involves a diplomatic post.

Can you trust every word?