4026 Elitism by Zero

This was a beautifully themed puzzle. The letters omitted from wordplay in 21 clues, in column order gave a 14-letter phrase – CRÈME DE LA CRÈME. These letters had to rise to the top of the grid, displacing other letters downwards. Doing this revealed THE PRIME OF MISS JEAN BRODIE and BRIGHT AS THE SEA. This latter phrase is given in Chambers as the meaning of the name Muriel. Muriel Spark wrote the story about Miss Jean Brodie who always told her favourite girls that they were the ‘crème de la crème’. Extra words in clues all had meanings of ‘spark’!

Extra words in clues and letters omitted in wordplay are shown in [ ]

Across
4 That diva's madly chasing man: one [lover] who shows the way (11)
BODHISATTVA BOD (man) + Anagram THAT DIVA
12 Part of battering ram's beginning to hang left of centre? (5)
THU[M]P H (1st letter in HANG) in TUP (ram)
13 Monstrous fringes of unpleasant river (9)
UNN[A]TURAL  UN(pleasa)NT + URAL
15 Marks used in the division of empire (5)
TH[E]ME M (marks) in THE
16 The idiot will get sore, perhaps (7)
TASS[E]LL T + ASS + ‘LL (SORE is also a hawk)
18 [Electrician] put name down to purchase business (10)
ENTERPRISE ENTER + PRISE
20 Apply pressure, doing without point at first to provide protection on leg (4)
[C]USH PUSH less P
23 Avoid pursuing old maid, it can't last long (6)
MAY-FLY MAY (maid) + FLY (avoid)
24 Hospital beginning to alleviate sickness of the blood (6)
HA[E]MAL H + A + MAL
25 Punishments interrupted by primitive Australian and African birds (8)
TOURACOS UR (primitive) + A (Australian) in TOCOS
28 Returning personal magnetism and energy [animate] sleeper (3)
TIE IT reversed + E
29 Divinity surrounded by amateurs in theatre's floor? (4)
AREA RE (religious education) in AA
30 Scots remarkably 1-0 (4)
UN[C]O UN (one) + O
32 Warm and dry afternoon in western quarter of Rome (3)
AIR A + I (in) + R(ome)
34 Parish priest showing [spunk] to tangle with kerb-crawler? (8)
MESS-JOHN MESS (to tangle) + JOHN (a prostitute’s client)
36 Four can play this bedroom game, extremely primal drives involved (6)
BRIDGE BR (bedroom) + G(am)E containing ID
38 Revive a traditional feature of church (not Latin) (6)
A[R]AISE A + AIS(L)E less L (Latin)
42 [Kindle] anger with Europe set about with number of directives from above (4)
TEEN E (Europe) in TEN (number of commandments)
44 Indian run out by partner, against English, for 21? (10)
PALINDRO[M]E PAL (partner) + IND + RO + E
47 Jewish ritual in pool with volcanic rock (7)
HAGGA[D]A HAGG + AA
48 Drain last bits of orange and lemon peel (5)
SEWEN SEW + (orang)E + (lemo)N (A peel is a young trout)
50 Most beautiful old-fashioned bang at first, then very quiet (9)
BRIGHT[E]ST B(ang) + RIGHT (very) + ST!
51 Book [flash] house by ocean (5)
HOSEA HO + SEA
52 Insist soap's treated in thickening device (11)
INSPISSATO[R] Anagram INSIST SOAP
 
Down
1 Start to scale little height in Netherlands province (7)
UTRE[C]HT UT RE (first 2 notes of scale) + HT (height)
2 Land where nutrition's available in decreasing quantities (6)
WHENUA WHE(re) NU(trition) A(vailable)
3 [Trigger] portion of gun nevertheless beginning to tarnish (4)
BUTT BUT (nevertheless) + T(arnish)
5 Begin poetical work (3)
OP[E] 2 definitions
6 Pool coin store (4)
DUMP 3 definitions
7 Money Peru relinquished unto Scots (5)
INTI[L] 2 definitions (INTI former currency of Peru)
8 Worried about keeping [diamond] 7 miles from land? (5, two words)
AT SEA S (seven) in ATE (worried) A (about)
9 Turkey provided that is not to be eaten (5)
TR[E]IF TR (Turkey) + IF (provided)
10 Farewell dance (a quick one); [beau] volunteers to leave at the end (4)
VALE VALETA less TA
11 Walks with girl, sun sinking (6)
ALL[E]YS SALLY moving S to the bottom
14 In burner, [ignite] Italian sea-snails? (6)
NERITA Hidden
17 [Flake] thus combined with cloying caramel at centre to make dark brown sauce (4)
SOYA SO (thus ) + YA central letters of cloYing carAmel
19 Booty found in tower (4)
REAR 2 definitions (here BOOTY = a person’s bottom)
21 Visits internet locations once sex is expunged (4)
S[E]ES SITES less IT
22 Lady chucking [glitter] at first man (4)
CLEO C(hucking) + LEO
26 Annihilate unruly bushmen heartlessly (4)
UNBE Anagram BU(shm)EN
27 Heroine finally has scoundrel over a barrel (4)
CADE CAD + E (last letter of heroinE)
30 Natural killer's among us; dramatically nullify [funk] by administering a smack? (6)
UNKISS NK + IS in US
31 Flush radioactive waste (4)
[C]RUD 2 definitions RUD (flush) CRUD (radioactive waste)
33 Directions observed in [start] of kidney replacement (7)
RENEWAL E + W (directions) in RENAL
34 Sikh bringing up one lie about Zakir Hussain's beginnings (6)
MAZHBI ZH (initials) in I BAM reversed
35 Peach schnapps originally belonging to German (4)
SING S(chnapps) + IN + G (german)
37 Pike swallows medusae outwardly covered in stones (6)
GE[M]MED  M(edusa)E in GED
39 Protection money expunged from doctored images (5)
AEGIS Anagram IMAGES less M
40 [Discharge] cavalryman from fort in southern Italy (5)
SPAHI PAH (Maori fort) in S I
41 Hardened clay with unending stream of air (5)
BLA[E]S BLAS(T)
43 Torpedo possibly turned on to new line? (4)
YARN RAY (reversed) + N
45 Unusually trim north European races (4)
NETT N + E + TT (races)
46 Constables relieved of broken chains at one time in the past (4)
ONST (c)ONST(ables) less CABLES
49 How to disrupt what people [initiate]? (3)
WHO Anagram HOW