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Rickeye,
42a. is a word for 'muddled' (6) minus 'bid', + a word for 'guide'

Once the penny drops this becomes a rather easier stroll than recent weeks - and thankfully no grid staring at the end! Am a little confused about 9 down (know of American house) as I cannot fully parse it.

Ah, yes! Thanks mattrom

I now understand 9 down now that I have the right answer!!!

Am I alone in finding this puzzle irritating and tedious?

Just dull for me, planks. If you're after tedious the ST cryptic's the chap for you!

Thanks for the heads up bobbycollins, I'll be sure to avoid.

I was neither irritated nor bored. It kept me amused - and away from something profoundly irritating and dull (the wall-to-wall coverage rather than the event itself). Thanks to Aedites.

Could I get a bit of help on this? I can’t get the thematic answers to fit in the grid because they clash with the non-thematic ones.

In those squares where thematic and non thematic answers intersect, if the letters are different, do you need to enter both? Or do you need to select one using some kind of rule? Thanks

There are no clashes. I would read the preamble again, literally.