7-letter words with U as the 3rd letter and L as the 4th letter

The -UL- core is easy to hear in BOULDER, COULTER, FAULTED and MOULDED. It also opens two clear clusters, SCUL- with 9 words and EMUL- with 7. Beyond those, the frame is a broad spread of plurals, comparatives and past tenses, so the ending matters more than the opening.

Facts on the U-L fourth frame

• Collins accepts 119 of the 121, NWL2023 accepts 85 and ENABLE accepts 77.
• Six words are common: BOULDER, POULTRY, EMULATE, HAULING, COULTER and SOULFUL.
• Last letters: S ends 28, R ends 22, D ends 21, E ends 19 and G ends 7.
• S opens 22 words, with C, E and M next on 11 each.
• The average score is 10.7.

Which prefixes cluster in 7-letter words with U 3rd and L 4th?

SCUL- gives nine: SCULLER, SCULPIN, SCULPTS, SCULLED and their relatives. EMUL- gives seven, among them EMULATE, EMULOUS, EMULSIN and EMULSOR.

Beyond those, MO- starts 7 words and PO- starts 6, with MOULDED and POULTRY as the best known. HAULING, FOULEST and FAULTED round out the everyday vocabulary.

SCULLER and SCULPIN are the best prefix bets, because SCUL- alone covers 9 of the 121 words.

What is the top scorer?

AZULEJO takes 23 points, with the Z worth 10 and the J worth 8. It is a Spanish tile word, accepted in NWL2023 and Collins but not in ENABLE.

BRULZIE and SPULZIE follow at 18, SKULKED at 16, and EXULTED and SKULKER at 15. EXULTED and BRULZIE are in all three dictionaries, but SPULZIE is Collins-only.

A Z or J on your rack is the cue to look for it, and BRULZIE or SPULZIE if your game uses Collins.

Spotting the right ending