SLICK

Meaning

A covering of liquid, particularly oil.

“Careful in turn three — there's an oil slick on the road.”

• verbTo make slick.
• adjectiveSlippery or smooth due to a covering of liquid; often used to describe appearances.

SLICK as a word-puzzle answer

SLICK is a 5-letter word with 1 vowel (I) and 4 consonants (S, L, C, K). Every letter is distinct, so it rarely punishes a clean opening guess.

It leans on high-frequency letters (S, I), so a strong vowel-and-common-consonant opener tends to light up quickly. Watch for the less-common letter K — saving a guess to test it once the vowels are placed is usually the fastest route.