Crossword Genius

Bloody US agent arresting one that's high (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rarefied

'high' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'bloody us agent arresting one' is the wordplay.
'bloody' becomes 'rare' (I've seen this before).
'us agent' becomes 'fed' (I've seen this before).
'arresting' indicates putting letters inside.
'one' becomes 'i' (Roman numeral).
'fed' going around 'i' is 'fied'.
'rare'+'fied'='RAREFIED'

'that's' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for rarefied that I've seen before include "Thin; very refined" , "Thinner than usual like air on high mountain" , "Thin - esoteric" , "Lofty - thin (of air)" , "Select" .)

I've seen this clue in The Independent.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app