Chinese provincial capital more than two miles above sea level / WED 9-8-21 / Power source for the first Green Lantern / French city where William the Conqueror is buried / Tiny purchase at a haberdashery

Theme answers:

• "ON THE DOUBLE!" (16A: "Hurry up!" to a batter?)
• "SHAKE A LEG!" (24A: "Hurry up!" to a dancer?)
• "LOOK ALIVE!" (50A: "Hurry up!" to a zombie?)
• "GET CRACKING!" (62A: "Hurry up!" to an omelet chef?)
• "HIT THE GAS!" (2D: "Hurry up!" to a nitrous oxide user?)
• "I'M WAITING!" (35D: "Hurry up!" to a server?)

Word of the Day: LHASA (1A: Chinese provincial capital more than two miles above sea level) —

Lhasa (/ˈlɑːsə/; Lhasa dialect: /l̥ɛː˥˥.sa˥˥/; Standard Tibetan: ལྷ་ས, lit. 'Place of Gods') is the urban center of the prefecture-level Lhasa City and the administrative capital of Tibet. The inner urban area of Lhasa City is equivalent to the administrative borders of Chengguan District (simplified Chinese: 城关区; traditional Chinese: 城關區; pinyin: Chéngguān Qū), which is part of the wider prefectural Lhasa City.

Lhasa is the second most populous urban area on the Tibetan Plateau after Xining and, at an altitude of 3,656 metres (11,990 ft), Lhasa is one of the highest cities in the world. The city has been the religious and administrative capital of Tibet since the mid-17th century. It contains many culturally significant Tibetan Buddhist sites such as the Potala Palace, Jokhang Temple and Norbulingka Palaces. (wikipedia)

Cluing LHASA as a "Chinese provincial capital" feels aggressively political and kind of hostile. I struggled with that clue so much up front, wondering what the hell this city could be, only to realize it's a city that's been in crosswords forever. It's just that this is the first time ever (literally ever, going back to 1944) that LHASA has been clued as part of China. The word "China" or "Chinese" had appeared in precisely zero LHASA clues before today. The preferred, and still accurate, term for the location of LHASA is "Tibet." I'm not going to go into a whole "Free Tibet!" thing here, but yeesh, there's a whole famous ongoing dispute about Tibet's political status, and it is bizarre beyond belief to see the NYTXW deciding, after 75+ years of neutrality on the issue, to formally recognize Chinese sovereignty. Yes, the Tibet Autonomous Region is in China, but lots of Tibetans and others consider the Chinese an occupying force. If you'd just stuck to cluing LHASA as Tibetan, you would've evoked none of this controversy. I just don't understand this clue at all (and at 1-Across, of all places). Here's a brief profile of Tibet from the BBC, just for historical context.

As for the theme, it worked until it didn't. Four of the themers make sense as clued, but ON THE DOUBLE has no meaning for a baseball player ("double," yes, ON THE DOUBLE, no), and I'M WAITING is a complete wash-out, since it reverses roles, i.e. you're supposed to be saying it *to* the "server*—the server is the one "waiting," not you. Beyond that, lots of crosswordese (CAEN, IRES (!!!?), AGUE ZEROG -INES OHARA on and on and on) and not a lot to like. No need to go to "Gone with the Wind" for O'HARA btw, unless you just enjoy romanticizing the antebellum South. Both my main struggles today were geographical, with LHASA confusing me up front and then KIGALI having seemingly disappeared from my brain completely. Not a world capital I ever put on permanent file in my memory stores. Had TIE CLIP before TIE TACK (48A: Tiny purchase at a haberdashery), and needed every cross to get CPA (64D: Figurehead?). Seriously, I had -PA and no idea ("hmmm, is it IPA? ... beer has a "head" on it ... nope, IPA's already in the grid ... hmmm" etc.). 

Oof, "play HOB," what the hell is that? (22A: Play ___ with (make trouble for)). Got the HO- and then my brain somehow knew it was "B" but my shadow brain was like "that's absurd, how do you even know that?" Try using that phrase today. I guarantee no one will understand you. So in the end, 2/3 of the themers work, and the grid is filled in a not-so-great but passable way. I've had worse Wednesdays. 

Signed, Rex Parker, King of CrossWorld 

P.S. I thought I'd share this email I received yesterday with you. It reminded me a little of why I love what I do (even if, on some days, like today, that might not be soooo evident :)

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