Crossword Genius

Bigwig smiles first, feeling good (5)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

swell

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'good' is the definition.
(similar in meaning)

'bigwig smiles first feeling' is the wordplay.
I cannot really understand how this works, but
'smiles first' could be 's' (1st letter of 'smiles') and 's' is found within the answer.
The remaining letters 'well' is a valid word which might be clued in a way I don't see.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for swell that I've seen before include "Bulge; a nob" , "First class" , "organ feature" , "Enlarge; sea movement" , "mushroom" .)

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