Sinister reputation's surpassed (4,8)
I believe the answer is:
left standing
'surpassed' is the definition.
The answer and definition are not the same part of speech. However, past participle verbs and adjectives occasionally mean the same thing.
'sinister reputation's' is the wordplay.
'sinister' becomes 'left' (I've seen this before).
'reputation' becomes 'standing' (one's standing is one's reputation or status).
'left'+'standing'='LEFT STANDING'
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for left standing that I've seen before include "Abandoned candidature" , "being too far behind" .)