New York, New York - The New York Times is facing a storm of criticism after printing a crossword puzzle that looked a like a swastika the day before the first night of Hanukkah.

The December 18 puzzle, titled "Some Theme’s Missing," immediately caused a stir with social media users pointing to the distinctive shape.

The comments section on The New York Times’ website duly caught fire.

"Count me in as one of the many commenters who immediately saw the swastika," wrote one. "It would be good if the puzzle editors addressed this and someone takes responsibility. Who cares if it was 'unintentional'? Isn’t that what editors are for?"

"Take the Swastika down. You exhibit bad taste considering the increased rate of antisemitism in the US now," wrote another.

"One would think you’d make sure your design isn’t featuring a prominent hate symbol after having already made that mistake," another added. "The NYT really does need to address this publicly, especially considering this has happened on the start of Hanukkah."

On that final note, the NYT did indeed already make that mistake in the past. A 2017 crossword puzzle also drew fierce criticism for containing a swastika shape.

As far as this latest scandal goes, in his own public comment about the puzzle, creator Ryan McCarty described it as a "fun whirlpool shape."

"Thrilled to have my first Sunday puzzle in The Times! This grid features one of my favorite open middles that I’ve made as it pulls from a variety of subject areas," McCarty wrote. "I had originally tried to make it work in a 15x15 grid but then decided to expand the grid out to a Sunday-size puzzle with a fun whirlpool shape. Hope you enjoy!"

As of publishing time, he had deleted his Twitter account.