Bulk large and have well-padded exterior (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
stand out
'bulk large' is the definition.
(thesaurus)
'and have well-padded exterior' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'and' could be 'n' (common abbreviation for 'and') and 'n' is located in the answer.
'exterior' could be 'out' (synonyms) and 'out' is located in the answer.
The remaining letters 'stad' 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 stand out that I've seen before include "Don't agree to - project" , "attract attention" , "Be prominent or superior" , "Be highly noticeable" , "Distinguish oneself" .)