Arrest a bigheaded libertine (5)

I believe the answer is:

brake

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'arrest' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

'a bigheaded libertine' is the wordplay.
'a bigheaded' becomes 'b' (this might be a standard abbreviation which I don't know about).
'libertine' becomes 'rake' (rake is a kind of libertine).
'b'+'rake'='BRAKE'

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(Other definitions for brake that I've seen before include "Thicket; estate car" , "Thicket; fern; slow down" , "Slower" , "Stop or slow car" , "Device for slowing or stopping car" .)

I've seen this clue in the Evening Standard.

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