Tough one. Possibly MOVER subconsciously suggested RIDER, or I might not have made it.
Wordle 636 2/6
STARE
MEALY
MEALY is (or was) on my list of three-dozen or so ‘words, which are not yet solutions, to try for the second guess;’ it’s the only one with A in the middle yet without R, S, or T. Luck!
Now I need a new ‘A in the middle and also no R, S, or T, and also not yet been a solution’ word.
I’ve got a list of 8 words that haven’t been a solution yet, but were possibilities today after my first word that did like yours: eliminated R,S,T and has an A in the middle slot. They are:
LEACH, LEAFY, LEAKY, LOAMY, CHALK, WHALE, QUAIL, QUALM.
After 2 I was left with either _A_CT or _AC_T. I immediately saw tacit, but after checking that’s already been an answer. Continuing to look, I think yacht might be the only other possible answer that could fit. Tricksy CHT trigraph!
Sheer laziness on my part; my default Plan A is to follow up ALONE with SHIRT — to cover AEIO along with TNSHRL, for a big ol’ chunk of ETAOIN SHRDLU — and, if I’m then still at zero, figure I’ll learn plenty with DUMPY.
But if my first word makes SHIRT impossible, the first thing I think is “uh, I was gonna play SHIRT.” So if, say, an O pops up, I think ‘SHORT’; and if an A pops up, I think SHART.
HEART
SHOAT hmmm… H has to be 3 or 4, A has to be 1 or 2. Need to fish for letters
AGAIN Now A has to be 2. Need to make sure we don’t have a U
CAPUT what the hell ends in ACHT? Oh I get it
YACHT
Yeah that makes total sense. My plan is similar in that I like to follow up plant with score, but if only a single consonant hits I’ll switch to spore, snore or store. (If the L hits I’m stuck with loser.)