Lyrics, big about dire extremes (4)
I believe the answer is:
odes
'lyrics' is the definition.
(I know this)
'big about dire extremes' is the wordplay.
'big' becomes 'os'.
'about' is an insertion indicator.
'extremes' suggests removing the centre.
'dire' with its middle taken out is 'de'.
'os' going around 'de' is 'ODES'.
(Other definitions for odes that I've seen before include "Lays" , "To a Skylark, To a Nightingale etc" , "verse" , "Lyric poems" , "Keats was fond of them" .)