Drop in rank, so sale, etc, affected (4,5)
I believe the answer is:
lose caste
'drop in rank' is the definition.
(caste is a social rank)
'so sale etc affected' is the wordplay.
'affected' indicates an anagram.
'so'+'sale'+'etc'='sosaleetc'
'sosaleetc' anagrammed gives 'LOSE CASTE'.
(Other definitions for lose caste that I've seen before include "decline socially" , "Brahmins may fear to" , "go down in class" .)