Crossword Genius

Big, strong boofhead spoke ahead of time (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

burly

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'big' is the definition.
(thesaurus)

I don't understand how the rest of the clue works.

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(Other definitions for burly that I've seen before include "Muscular and heavily built" , "Big and thickset" , "Beefy" , "Big and sturdy" , "Sturdily built" .)

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