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

The tie at the top is the striking thing about this list. UNLUCKY and UNBULKY get there through a K and a Y, while UNQUOTE, UNQUIET and UNQUEEN get there through the Q. Beneath them sit several four-letter stems with a UNxU shape, such as UNCU, UNTU and UNGU.

The 52 words in brief

• Five words tie for first at 16: UNLUCKY, UNBULKY, UNQUOTE, UNQUIET and UNQUEEN.
• UNCUFFS follows at 15, and the average is 10.6.
• Final letters: S 16, D 11, E 8, T 6, Y 5 and R 3.
• UNLUCKY is the only word in the top 25,000 English words.
• Collins takes 50, NWL2023 takes 36, ENABLE takes 33.

Which UN_U stems come up most?

UNCU, UNTU, UNGU and UNFU each hold five words. UNCU gives UNCURBS, UNCURLS, UNCURED, UNCUFFS and UNCURSE, and UNTU gives UNTUCKS, UNTUNES, UNTURFS, UNTURNS and UNTUNED. UNGU gives UNGULAR, UNGULED, UNGUENT, UNGUARD and UNGULAE, and UNFU gives UNFUMED, UNFUNNY, UNFUSSY, UNFUSED and UNFURLS.

UNSU and UNBU have four apiece: UNSUITS, UNSUNNY, UNSURED and UNSURER, then UNBULKY, UNBUILD, UNBUILT and UNBURNT.

Why do five words reach 16 points?

UNLUCKY scores 1+1+1+1+3+5+4 = 16, using C, K and Y. UNBULKY works the same way with a B instead of a C. The Q trio gets 10 for the Q and 1 for each of the other six letters.

UNFUNNY, UNFUSSY and UNSUNNY also end in Y but score less because they lack a K or Q. Five words end in Y in total, and UNLUCKY is the only common one.

How many are Collins-only?

Collins accepts 50 of the 52, but NWL2023 accepts 36 and ENABLE accepts 33. UNQUEEN, UNRUFFE, UNSUNNY and UNPURSE are among the entries that fail in North American lists, so check your game's word list before using them.