Primarily, a lovable rogue (5,3)
I believe the answer is:
above all
'primarily' is the definition.
(above all can mean primarily or especially)
'a lovable rogue' is the wordplay.
'rogue' is an anagram indicator (letters go rogue).
'lovable' is an anagram of 'boveall'.
'a'+'boveall'='ABOVE ALL'
(Other definitions for above all that I've seen before include "omnipotent?" , "More than anything else" , "Most importantly" , "First and foremost" , "Notably" .)