Strong Chinese liqour / SAT 11-4-17 / automaker with slogan wir leben autos / island on which mount obama is highest point / Annual music film festival founded in 1987 briefly

Constructor: Michael Shteyman

Relative difficulty: Easy-Medium


THEME: STRETCH THE TRUTH (54A: Exaggerate ... or a hint to five nonconsecutive letters in 20-Across, 36-Across and 7-Down)— T R U T and H appear in (non-consecutive) order in each of the three themers

Theme answers:

• THROUGH THE YEARS (20A: Over time)
• BUTTERNUT SQUASH (36A: Garden fruit that tastes pumpkin-y)
• "DON'T ARGUE WITH ME!" (7D: "Because I said so!") 

Word of the Day: AHMAD TEA (11D: Alternative to Twinings) —

Ahmad Tea is a tea company based in London, England. The company produces a range of tea bags, loose teas and gifts including: black tea, green tea, flavoured teas, and herbal teas. They opened a new eco-friendly office in Chandler's Ford, Hampshire in 2010. // Ahmad Tea distributes to over 80 countries on six continents, where it can be found in selected restaurants, hotels, specialty shops as well as some chains.Ahmad Tea’s headquarters also contains a tea museum, which attracts local guests. In 2015, it was awarded with three Great Taste Awards for various blends. In 2012, in partnership with U Support charity, Ahmad Tea donated its range of teas to Chariteas, a branded tea room in Hampshire, whose proceeds go to supporting disabled children. In 2013, Ahmad Tea was awarded the ethical investor of the year award for its charitable initiatives in the UK and support of orphanages in Mali, Russia, Sri Lanka and Ukraine. (wikipedia)

Why would you do this? And by "this" I mean a couple of things—why would you think this was a good theme (non-consecutive letters?!) and also why would you put this on one of the only reliably Good days of the week? Why would you take away the joy of a true Saturday themeless, only to replace it with this!? Run this thing on Wednesday (with different / easier clues) if you really must publish it. Ugh, non-consecutive letters that allegedly spell things = non. events. NONEVENTS. Watch: TRUST THE PROCESS! Boom! 15, non-consecutive "truth," check please! Do you see how this "theme" is an objectionable nuisance?! "DON'T ARGUE WITH ME" is both the only good answer in this grid and the thing I will say to you if you object to my claim that it is the only good answer in this grid. What on god's green earth is AHMAD TEA. Thank god those AHMAD crosses were fair, because yikes. I have never heard of this alleged tea until Just This Second. Does it even exist in the States? Rough. MAOTAI, also rough (1D: Strong Chinese liquor). At least I remembered TENERIFE exists (38D: Largest of the Canaries).

AHMAD AMAHL AMOUR is the new amo amas amat. Speaking of AMAHL, I have done so many damned puzzles that I just take it for granted that that was a gimme for everyone else too, only ... there's no reason it should be. Both AMAHL and its silent movie crossing POLA are names I learned from crosswords. I have since seen POLA's name in other places, as I've become more of a movies fan over (not through) the years, but crossing those two seems dicey. I know OLIN because daughter is in full-on college application mode, and they were definitely on her radar. I think she determined that they were just too small, but ... I mean, she's applying to Harvey Mudd, and their entire student body could barely fill a movie theater, so I don't really get her objection to OLIN, but it's her life, her business. We have been told quite emphatically to stop talking about all of it, so I guess she'll just tell us sometime in April where she's gonna be next year. Could very well be UCLA. Or not. We'll see.


OK bye now.

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld

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