Crossword Genius

Success spread to her, until now (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

hitherto

'until now' is the definition.
(hitherto means until the present time)

'success spread to her' is the wordplay.
'success' becomes 'hit' (a hit is a commercial success).
'spread' indicates anagramming the letters.
'to'+'her'='toher'
'toher' is an anagram of 'herto'.
'hit'+'herto'='HITHERTO'

(Other definitions for hitherto that I've seen before include "Previously" , "Up to this point" , "Up till now" , "So far" , "Up to this time" .)

I've seen this clue in The Daily Express.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app