7-letter words with R as the 1st letter and R as the 6th letter

Two Rs bracket this frame, and the sixth-place R leaves a single tile after it. For nearly two thirds of the words that tile is S, almost always the -ERS of an agent noun. The rest is a scatter of -RY, -RE and -RT endings, plus a ZZ novelty group worth far more points.

The R____R_ frame in numbers

• 149 words fit, and 22 are common English.
• 128 have a definition; the average score is 10.3.
• S ends 96 words, Y ends 17 and E ends 14.
• E is the second letter for 49 words and O for 29.
• Five words tie at 25 points, and REQUIRE scores 16.

Why is the final S so strong?

Because 79 of the 149 words end in -ERS, the plural of a doer. READERS, RUNNERS, RANGERS, raiders and robbers are typical, and rappers and rockers repeat the pattern.

Add -ARS with 6, -URS with 5 and -ORS with 5, plus one other -RS word, and the S group reaches 96, nearly two thirds. That is the quickest filter in the frame, and it explains why a plural clue is so easy here.

What about the other endings?

-RY closes 17 words: RIVALRY, ROBBERY, rockery and rookery. -RE closes 14, as in RAPTURE, require and rupture. -RT and -RD add 7 and 5. The -RT ending, as in rapport, is rarer still.

The scores are lopsided. Five words with ZZ in the middle share 25 points each, while REQUIRE reaches 16 through its Q. A typical word elsewhere sits near the 10.3 average, so these few stand far above it.

Dictionary coverage