Crossword Genius

'Make it fast," said the Asian (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

thai

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'the asian' is the definition.
(from Thailand)

''make it fast said' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite understand how this works, but
'it' could be 't' (abbreviation. e.g. in 'tis) and 't' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'hai' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This explanation may well be incorrect...

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for thai that I've seen before include "SE Asian" , "eastern language" , "nationality" , "From old Siam?" , "Sort of eastern cooking" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.
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