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20d - same here Chris, my confusion arose because I didn't know Sphinx was a setter and thought the clue was trying to equate ????? with the dictionary definition.

Finally finished it. I was held up by having 1d wrong. There is scope to get both 1d & 2d wrong with alternative but nevertheless correct answers to the clue.

FOI 8d LOI 9a which is a Pauline clue.

Jono
Thanks for the link. I remember watching inside No. 9 as did other forum members .
https://www.crosswordsolver.org/forum/612779/offset/10

Thanks Jazz, you’ve a good memory! I don’t think I saw it at the time, but I might watch it tonight as I see it’s still available on iPlayer

Jono
I think you will enjoy it. As you will see from my original post, I was "hiding behind the sofa" at one poiint, but did recover to continue watching until the end :-)

I liked the misdirection of the 5d and 12a combo. 5d just had to be in the past tense. "Up" surely was the anagram indicator in 12a. Double 'oh!

Brendan
I didn’t have a problem with ‘Sphinx’ leading to the word in question, quite apart from the Pemberton connection (which I confess I’d forgotten). I think it’s a reference to the deadly habit of the Sphinx of Greek myth.

Agreed, rogissimo. I found the Sphinx clue reasonable w/o reference to the Pemberton thing, though that was a clever touch by Paul.

BTW, I considered 9 too tame (and common in crosswords) to be truly Pauline, but opinions evidently vary.

Jazz@25
😳 wow, that got very dark very quickly! I liked it though. Some of the clues weren’t entirely convincing but never mind. Nice touch to call the girl character “Nina”. And I noticed in the closing credits that the “crossword consultant” was Alan Connor, who we now know as Everyman!

Stuck in the NW corner.
Tips for 9a, please.
That will determine which of two valid answers can be used for 1d.
Which might help me get the answer to 1a (I have already solved 4a).