A:Answer Yeah, I completely agree with you on that. And, although I certainly don't want to "mislead" or confuse you with my answer, what I will say is it's more of a "kind of" a combination of both, ending up being a MUCH larger "slot" than what I think you're referring to. Definitely large enough to take a good swig or drink from; NOT like trying to suck a football through a straw like many of them are. Plus, the drinking "slot" is actuated by a button on the natural grip side of the mug, making controllable drinks (vice spills) easy-breezy. Then there's an ADDITIONAL "tab" on the opposite side of the drink slot that makes this mug truly 100% spill-proof. It canNOT be actuated unless the lid's fully secure, so once it is actuated, you know the contents will NOT spill, if the mug takes a tumble or is laying sideways in your lunch pail. Hope that helps!