The pointer itself is const; not what it points to. bar -> const pointer to mutable array of ints *bar -> mutable array of ints And const pointers ar

The pointer itself is const; not what it points to. bar -> const pointer to mutable array of ints *bar -> mutable array of ints And const pointers are dereferenced with * , not (* const), so the rule needs an exception for const pointers (as well as volatile pointers).