Crossword Genius

So great to pay for goods. I had about 50 (8)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

splendid

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'so great' is the definition.
'splendid' can be an answer for 'great' (I've seen this before). I am unsure of the 'so' bit.

'pay for goods i had about 50' is the wordplay.
I cannot quite see how this works, but
'i' is within the answer.
'had' could be 'd' (in contractions e.g. 'I'd', 'you'd' etc) and 'd' is located in the answer.
'50' could be 'l' (Roman numeral) and 'l' is present in the answer.
'pay' could be 'spend' (spending is a kind of paying) and 'spend' is present in the leftover letters.
This accounts for all the letters.
This may be the basis of the clue (or it may be nonsense).

'to' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for splendid that I've seen before include "Excellent, first-class" , "Magnificent, very impressive" , "Very fine, glorious" , "super" , "Characterised by grandeur" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
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