The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 11 letter word PING-PONGED
I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
P
I
N
G
-
P
O
N
G
E
D
Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Was bouncer" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case was bouncer = ping-ponged.The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.
Crossword Answer definitions
PING-PONGED verb- To figuratively bounce or be bounced back and forth.
- To play the game of ping pong.