Meta solve - 26A, the crossword title, and the banner image (of ladder golf) all refer to word ladders, also known as word links or word golf. You can rearrange every four-letter clue in the crossword to form a single word ladder with one word missing (being 38A 48A 6D 9A 9D 27D 27A 34D 1A 1D ?? 41A 25D 28D 33A 12A 20D 50A 10D 37D). This single word, SHIT (or CHOT, which isn't a word), is the "missing something where something should be".