Polish were fine men, though not entirely (10)
I believe the answer is:
refinement
'polish' is the definition.
(synonyms)
'were fine men though not entirely' is the wordplay.
'not entirely' indicates a hidden word.
'REFINEMENT' is hidden in the letters of 'were fine men though'.
(Other definitions for refinement that I've seen before include "Cultivation" , "Improvement; elegance" , "Elegance, sophistication" , "Polish" , "culture" .)