Rude and disrespectful, like sailors from Cowes? (8)
I believe the answer is:
insolent
'rude and disrespectful' is the definition.
(I've seen this before)
'from cowes?' is the wordplay.
'from' becomes 'in' (I've seen this in other clues).
'cowes?' becomes 'solent' (I can't justify this - if you can you should give a lot more credence to this answer).
'in'+'solent'='INSOLENT'
'like sailors' acts as a link.
This may not be right. Some or all of it may belong to another bit of the clue.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for insolent that I've seen before include "Impertinent" , "Brash" , "Impudent and disrespectful" , "Saucy" , "Bold" .)