The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 5 plus 3 letter word ABOVE PAR
I've seen this crossword clue in The Guardian
A
B
O
V
E
P
A
R
More clues leading to the result ABOVE PAR
- Dictionaries include papyrus here, at a premium
- Better than average sort of pea — bravo!
- Better than expected, but not for Tiger, say
- Better than expected, though not on course
- More than one out of two is of higher standard
- Where most of cash goes to make biblical king greater than expected
- Superior graduate on the rise ended cuddling secretary
- Better than normal, but not on course!
- Ace paragraph about cattle’s cut in — quite good
- Struggling on course, father’s overlooking first rule
Buddy explains!
The straight part
We know that "of higher standard" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case of higher standard = above par.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.