"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a ___" (old maxim) Crossword Clue

We have the 4-letter answer for "Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a ___" (old maxim) crossword clue, last seen in the NYT Crossword December 9, 2025 puzzle. Let us help you solve the crossword clue that has you stumped so you can finish the puzzle.

"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a ___" (old maxim) Crossword Answer

→54.

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Helpful Hints

(verb)
1. call forth (emotions, feelings, and responses)
2. provide with fuel
(noun)
1. the process of combustion of inflammable materials producing heat and light and (often) smoke
2. feelings of great warmth and intensity

Hint 2: Clue Definitions

LIGHTING (noun)
1. having abundant light or illumination
2. the act of setting something on fire
EDUCATION (noun)
1. the United States federal department that administers all federal programs dealing with education (including federal aid to educational institutions and students); created 1979
2. the result of good upbringing (especially knowledge of correct social behavior)

Hint 3: Anagram

Unscramble the letters below to solve for today's answer.
REIF

More NYT Crossword (12/9/2025) Answers

Across

1. Goes on to say

5. San Diego baseballer

10. Livens (up)

14. Termites, for an aardwolf

15. Cup-shaped flower

16. Give off

17. "Judging from the information available to me …"

20. Unadulterated

21. San Francisco-to-Santa Cruz dir.

22. Propellers of a shell

23. "These are merely my spur-of-the-moment suggestions …"

27. Gobbled up

28. Abu Dhabi's country, for short

29. Notable time period

30. Gossip, in slang

31. Accurse

33. 33-Down, across the Atlantic

34. "Oh, ___!" (hit Broadway farce about Mrs. Lincoln)

35. Verdant privacy features … or a punny description of the four longest answers in this puzzle

38. Singer/actress Lady ___

41. Historical

42. Got a good reaction, as a joke

46. Equal: Prefix

47. Swim-bike-run race, for short

48. Sound from someone sitting down at the end of a long day

49. Game with "skip" and "reverse" cards

50. "Here's my two cents, which might not amount to much …"

55. Pre-digital TV screen tech

56. Not close by

57. "Feel free to dismiss this idea - however …"

61. Survey

62. Temporary tattoo dye

63. “Frozen” character who sings “Let It Go”

64. Influence

65. Burros

66. Pair in a water polo pool

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Down

1. Computing pioneer Lovelace

2. Argue

3. Neutralized, as an explosive situation

4. Launch

5. Org. in charge of school fund-raisers

6. One who might ask "Fair dinkum?"

7. Like some minor celebrities

8. Asahi Super Dry or Kirin Lager

9. Org. that oversees air quality initiatives

10. Bit in a round of "He loves me, he loves me not"

11. Professor ___ (title for some retirees)

12. Light lager

13. The Cards, on scoreboards

18. Cover letter accompaniment

19. Mardi Gras city, informally

23. Poke

24. Music app named for a figure in Greek myth

25. Pigmented rings

26. Part of L.G.B.T.Q.+

32. "By Jove, that's it!"

33. 33-Across, across the Atlantic

34. Web portal launched with Windows 95

36. Malfunctions in the Matrix, in "The Matrix"

37. Sound of a sad trombone

38. Many an animated meme loop

39. To date

40. Silverback, for one

43. Built to last

44. Give for safekeeping

45. How stupid of me!

47. "Edie & ___: A Very Long Engagement" (2009 documentary)

48. Bring into harmony

51. With a wink, say

52. Smooths (out)

53. On a regular basis

57. Special ___

58. "J to ___ L-O! The Remixes" (2002 Jennifer Lopez album)

59. One of the four fundamental states of matter

60. Some Ph.D. students

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