Crossword Genius

Gets near foreign police officer (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

sergeant

'police officer' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)

'gets near foreign' is the wordplay.
'foreign' indicates an anagram (foreign order of the letters).
'gets'+'near'='getsnear'
'getsnear' anagrammed gives 'SERGEANT'.

(Other definitions for sergeant that I've seen before include "Military or police officer" , "Copper" , "Police rank" , "Estrange (anag)" , "Man in charge" .)

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