I entered; lad starts experimenting, yes, on saw! (4,4,2)

I believe the answer is:

laid eyes on

'saw' is the definition.
(laying eyes on is a kind of seeing)

'i entered lad starts experimenting yes on' is the wordplay.
'entered' is an insertion indicator.
'starts' suggests taking the first letters.
The first letter of 'experimenting' is 'e'.
'i' going within 'lad' is 'laid'.
'laid'+'e'+'yes'+'on'='LAID EYES ON'

(Another definition for laid eyes on that I've seen is " saw".)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.

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