Crossword Genius

A thousand flowers for teachers (7)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

masters

'for teachers' is the definition.
(old word for teachers)

'a thousand flowers' is the wordplay.
'a thousand' becomes 'm' (Roman numeral for a thousand).
'flowers' becomes 'asters' (aster is a type of flower).
'm'+'asters'='MASTERS'

(Other definitions for masters that I've seen before include "Artists of consummate skill" , "competition today" , "Higher degree" , "Could be checkers" , "Boys" .)

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