Ancient distinction in national flag (3,5)

I believe the answer is:

old glory

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'national flag' is the definition.
(Old Glory is an example)

'ancient distinction' is the wordplay.
'ancient' becomes 'old' ('old' can be similar in meaning to 'ancient').
'distinction' becomes 'glory' (I am not sure about this - if you are sure you should believe this answer much more).
'old'+'glory'='OLD GLORY'

'in' acts as a link.

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(Other definitions for old glory that I've seen before include "Nickname for US flag" , "Name for the US national flag" , "Nickname for the flag of the United States" , "seen flying at pole" , "The star-spangled banner" .)

I've seen this clue in The Guardian.

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