Artist occupying lodgings following old lady runs carnival (5,4)
I believe the answer is:
mardi gras
'carnival' is the definition.
(Mardi Gras is an example)
'artist occupying lodgings following old lady runs' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'artist' could be 'ra' (Royal Academician, member of Royal Academy of Arts) and 'ra' is present in the answer.
'lodgings' could be 'digs' (synonyms) and 'digs' is located in the remaining letters.
'runs' could be 'r' (cricket abbreviation) and 'r' is located in the answer.
'old lady' could be 'ma' (both can mean mother) and 'ma' is found in the answer.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for mardi gras that I've seen before include "Time for carnival" , "festive occasion" , "Day for 9 acrosses" , "Shrove Tuesday festival" , "The lead up to fast" .)