Crossword Genius

Talking about the stars has reputation diminishing (4-8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

name-dropping

'talking about the stars' is the definition.

'reputation diminishing' is the wordplay.
'reputation' becomes 'name' (name is a kind of reputation).
'diminishing' becomes 'dropping'.
'name'+'dropping'='NAME-DROPPING'

'has' acts as a link.

(Other definitions for name-dropping that I've seen before include "Boasting of acquaintance" , "Casually mentioning famous people" , "Practice of referring to famous people in order to impress" , "Referring to one''s famous friends?" , "Casual mention of the famous in order to impress" .)

I've seen this clue in The Times.
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