Crossword Genius

Men of low rank rate mixing with VIPs (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

privates

'men of low rank' is the definition.
(soldiers of low rank)

'rate mixing with vips' is the wordplay.
'mixing with' indicates anagramming the letters.
'rate' mixed up with 'vips' can make 'PRIVATES'.

(Other definitions for privates that I've seen before include "soldiers" , "It would be unseemly to expose these" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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