7-letter words with U as the 1st letter and L as the 4th letter

UNCL- is the largest single opening with 13 words, and UNBL-, UNPL- and UNSL- add 15 more between them. Four words are common English: UTILIZE, UTILITY, UNCLEAR and USELESS. The commonest finish is E, with 15 words, ahead of S with 10.

Facts about U _ _ L _ _ _

• Dictionary reach: 60 words in Collins, 42 in NWL2023, 37 in ENABLE.
• Top scores: UTILIZE 16, then UNBLOCK, UPCLIMB and UPFLOWS at 15.
• UN- opens 36 words, UP- opens 9 and UR- opens 4.
• The average score is 10.6.

Which letter after the L is most common?

I follows the L in 17 words, O in 15, E in 12, and A and U in 8 each. The I group has UTILIZE, UTILITY, UNCLIPS, UPFLING and UNSLICK, while the O group has UNBLOCK, UNCLOAK, UNCLOGS, UNCLOUD.

UNCL- alone gives UNCLAMP, UNCLASP, UNCLEAN, UNCLEAR, UNCLOSE, UNCLOUD and UNCLING, among others. If your fourth tile is L and the prefix is UN-, UNC- is the safest guess.

What do these words end in?

E closes 15 words, among them UNPLACE, UPCLOSE, UNCLOSE, UNALIKE and UKULELE. S closes 10, T closes 7 (UNCLEFT, UNBLEST, UNCLIPT) and G closes 6 (UPFLING, UPFLUNG, UNSLING, UNSLUNG, UNCLING and UPALONG).

The final letter works best as a second clue after the prefix. UNCL- plus a final E, for instance, leaves only UNCLOSE.

The plural S words, such as UNCLIPS, UNCLOGS, UNPLUGS, UPFLOWS and UPBLOWS, give the easiest hooks when you are extending a word already on the board.

Which words score the most?

UTILIZE makes 16 thanks to the Z. UNBLOCK, UPCLIMB and UPFLOWS make 15, and UFOLOGY, UPBLOWN and UPBLOWS make 14.

UTILIZE, UNBLOCK, UPCLIMB, UPFLOWS and UFOLOGY work in Collins, NWL2023 and ENABLE. UPBLOWN and UPBLOWS are Collins-only.

After those come UNCLAMP and UNCLOAK at 13 and UPFLING at 13. The average for the pattern is 10.6, which means a 13 or better is a good return for tiles that are mostly common.