Spike half cut, the rogue (3)
I believe the answer is:
imp
'rogue' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'spike half cut' is the wordplay.
'spike' becomes 'impale' (synonyms).
'half cut' suggests halving the letters.
'impale' halved is 'IMP'.
'the' is the link.
(Other definitions for imp that I've seen before include "little chap" , "pickle" , "Elf" , "Sprite; add feathers to" , "A small mischievous devil" .)