What happened when the flag was hoisted showing a flower? (8,4)
I believe the answer is:
standard rose
'what happened when the flag' is the definition.
I know nothing about this answer so I cannot tell whether this works.
'hoisted showing a flower?' is the wordplay.
'hoisted showing' becomes 'standard' (I can't explain this - if you can you should believe this answer much more).
'a flower?' becomes 'rose' (I've seen this in other clues).
'standard'+'rose'='STANDARD ROSE'
'was' acts as a link.
Can you help me to learn more?
(Other definitions for standard rose that I've seen before include "Chelsea exhibit? - with 19a" , "Competitors better this year maybe" .)