Crossword Genius

Regretted being reported by head for insolence (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

rudeness

'for insolence' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'regretted being reported by head' is the wordplay.
'regretted' becomes 'rued' ('rue' can be a synonym of 'regret').
'being reported' shows a homophone (sound like).
'by' says to put letters next to each other.
'head' becomes 'ness' (type of geographical point).
'rued' sounds like 'rude'.
'rude'+'ness'='RUDENESS'

(Other definitions for rudeness that I've seen before include "Incivility" , "Discourtesy" , "Impolite behaviour" , "Bad manners, lack of politeness" , "Lip" .)

I've seen this clue in The Irish Times.
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