Big-hearted Ben gets English rodent nursery tiny tops (10)

I believe the answer is:

benevolent

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'big' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'ben gets english rodent nursery tiny tops' is the wordplay.
'gets' is a charade indicator (letters next to each other).
'english' becomes 'E' (abbreviation).
'rodent' becomes 'vole' (vole is a kind of rodent).
'tops' says to take the initial letters.
The first letters of 'nursery tiny' is 'nt'.
'ben'+'e'+'vole'+'nt'='BENEVOLENT'

'hearted' acts as a link.
This may not be correct. It may be part of another bit of the clue.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for benevolent that I've seen before include "Well disposed" , "Well-meaning, kindly" , "Kind" , "Charitable" , "Philanthropic" .)

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

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