Opener Lab
SCANT vs SLANT
See which word leaves you with the easier game.
Both words are in the current screen of 182 openers, tested against 2,360 answers. Exact misses rank first; average guesses among wins break ties.
The same solver played from both openers. SLANT has the lower average in games solved within six: 3.45 guesses to 3.48 for SCANT.
Looking only at the opening row, SLANT has higher entropy (5.49 bits versus 5.21). That describes first-guess separation, not the full solve on its own.
| Metric | SCANT | SLANT |
|---|---|---|
| Elimination | 94.6% | 95.7% |
| Information | 5.21 bits | 5.49 bits |
| Avg remaining | 128 words | 101 words |
| Avg turns | 3.48 | 3.45 |
| Missed in six | 0 | 0 |
| Win rate | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| Tier (first turn only) | B | A |
What to expect from the first guess
| Outcome | SCANT | SLANT |
|---|---|---|
| First-turn solve* | 0.04% | 0.04% |
| At least one green | 37.7% | 41.5% |
| Any green or yellow | 83.3% | 86.2% |
| Whole row gray | 16.7% | 13.8% |
| Worst case answers left | 395 | 326 |
*Treating every word in the possible-answer list as equally likely.
A fully gray row is rarer with SLANT: it happens 13.8% of the time, against 16.7% for SCANT.
How these two openers fit together
SCANT and SLANT share 4 of their 5 letters (A, N, S, T), so as a pair they only cover 6 distinct letters. Treat them as alternatives rather than partners, because playing both wastes most of the second guess.
Played back to back, SCANT then SLANT earns 6.18 bits of information in total, 0.68 bits more than the better word manages alone.
Past Wordle answers
- SCANT: Answer to the puzzle on January 4, 2024.
- SLANT: Has not been a past Wordle answer in this site's history.