A quotation is formed by one letter from each clue except the last, which is missing the two words to complete the quotation.  The last letter of the clue answer indicates which clue letter to select, with A indicating the first, B the second etc.  Some cells contain more than one letter due to overlong answers and clashes.  Those letters must be correctly ordered to show thematic items, hinted at by the quotation.  Numbers in brackets are the number of cells occupied by the entry.  Chambers Dictionary (2016) is the primary reference.

Across 1 Poet of no merit bringing back dull fish (8) 8 Agree for a while a pal only made up good (9, two words) 13 A producer of cow’s milk runs away from guiding principle (5) 15 Oratorio naturally concealed collection of stars (5) 17 Not on, getting absolute Anglo-Saxon ruler (4) 18 See, gold is dearer in Glasgow (4) 19 A guessing game relating to animals of a supposed fossil (6) 20 In short, Augustus entangles Jack in island fiddles (4) 21 Wronged miss ended up all bottomless and half-naked (7) 23 School revises Zero’s musical part (7) 24 Pitchers take in two points following partners (4) 25 Mathematician not at first associated with Caesar (6) 27 Statement of amazement when losing queen’s vehicle (4) 28 Simplify history of Sidney laid out with empty fantasy (8) 30 Reproved over spelling, he swore (8) 33 Nap at Holyrood once oldies suffer early starts (4) 34 Alternative technology is only half of nose making sneezing sound (6) 36 Not being holy, dismiss men in South African armed group (4) 37 Living in bondage excited Fred’s old master (7) 39 Reddish-brown coach is concealing topless broadcast (7) 42 An African gang heard (4) 43 “Very large growth” is a quote made up, lacking time (6) 44 Irish girl hidden by counter-intelligence (4) 46 Deserve each service (4) 47 Stop after translator’s turn (5) 48 Occur in recalling desirability (5) 49 Saint gets nod after a German writer (9) 50 A sound unit:  soldier’s without dissension (8, three words)

Down 1 Fan opening for ousted comic (4) 2 Goodbyes answer sign of the cross when following god  (6) 3 I was guide around food shop (4) 4 Tribe first in indicating Indian tree (3) 5 Islands’ dialect found in Sweden or Norway (4) 6 In the past, grey Greek having income support … (4) 7 … manufactured epic woe for knight – a nasty person (10, three words) 8 Made light of journalist following bear twice (10) 9 Detoxed mostly after exposure in Scottish town (6) 10 Console one new prisoner (5) 11 Discordant and certainly very loud inside empty embassy (5) 12 Government fool with year of empty talk (5) 14 Writer in parliaments (4) 16 Six zoos expelled ducks and the French dog (6) 17 Monsters go back in triangular bits of land in the country (5) 22 Nuke’s out of order: seizing Maine is not peaceful (6) 26 Nine to one against king who offended Zeus (5) 27 To search for smuggled goods, Jeremiah queues on the left side (6) 29 Small carnivore of revolutionary America and South Africa (6) 30 Rides in swarms about Perth (5) 31 Wager time is lost for European reproductive body (5) 32 German city wine lacks mark of safety (5) 35 Hawaii catches satisfactory fish (4) 38 Thai and Burmese people adopt a monkey (4) 39 Dunstable’s county maybe places for dropping off (4) 40 Exchanging brake’s parts is concerning (4, two words) 41 When broadcast, spectacle is viewed (4) 45 This city tap ran badly for -- (3)

To enter this competition, send your entry as an image or in list format, indicating the thematic entries, to ccpuzzles@talktalk.net before 8th August 2018. The first correct entry drawn from the hat will receive a book donated by  Chambers.