4083 Not as Mad as It Sounds? by Bandmaster

As Gregson expected from Bandmaster, this was a puzzle with a clever theme and superbly crafted clues. Twelve clashes must be resolved to broadly similar effect. Correct choices spell the name of an American with a single entry in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations. Twelve entries were the names of ailments which had to be altered. They were (bother, malady, zoster, dole, blues, rash, weid, cares, ache, scurvy, pain, misery). The letters to be chosen spelled the name of MICHAEL TORKE, whose single entry is “ Why waste money on psychotherapy when you can listen to the B Minor Mass.”  As hinted in the preamble, solvers had to replace PSYCHOTHERAPY at 6dn with the “work” THE B MINOR MASS. All these changes left real words in the grid. Finally, the word BACHING had to be highlighted as a possible coinage for the recommended treatment.

 Across
1 Girl's illness? Vapours (repeatedly) (6)
MIASMS MIA’S MS
6 Tool with guide for blind? (7)
PICKLED PICK + LED
12 Oaf, following Oxford University lectures, finally excels with brain (7)
OUTWITS OU (Oxford University) + TWIT + (lecture)S
13 Ducks should be filling the sides of this river (4)
OHIO (t)HI(s) in OO (ducks)
14 This palm could be swaying temporally (6)
TROELY Compound anagram TEMPORALLY less PALM
15 Hybrid steel's separated from track by end of conveyor belt (6)
ZOSTER ZO (hybrid) + STE(el) less EL (track) + (conveyo)R
16 The pain that comes with being unemployed? (4)
DOLE 2 definitions
18 Child one caught in office needs to be given good hiding (7)
CACHING CH + I in CAN (office, here means WC) + G (good)
19 Tonic found regularly in The Heart of Midlothian? (3)
DOH hidden regularly miDlOtHian
20 Some students squander fortunes lucklessly (5)
BLUES BLUE + LUCKS less LUCK!
23 Eruption - that's right, and its product (4)
RASH R + ASH
25 Inspector wants time suitable for fast developing imager (6)
MAIGRE MAIGRET less T; Anagram IMAGER
26 Injecting iodine into married mother may encounter this problem (4)
WEID I in WED
29 Provide means to progress as bishop? (5)
CATER 2 definitions
30 Scottish town, not completely flourishing (4)
PERT PERT(h)
32 Draw sting when holding stinger (6)
CRAYON RAY in CON
35 Jet beginning from European capital, heading for England (4)
SLOE (o)SLO + E
38 Minds race when working out the latest in technologies (5)
CARES Anagram RACE + (technologie)S
39 Drop in the ocean? Forget the overcharge (3)
EAN OCEAN less OC
42 Asian forester burns wood around Eastern area (7, two words)
SUN BEAR E + A in Anagram BURNS
45 First sign of hangover? It used to be (4)
ACHE 2 definitions (see aitch)
46 Having dandruff is liable to send you round the bend (6)
SCURVY ‘S + CURVY
47 Twiggy was initially less thin, not having the height to start with (6)
WICKER W(as) + THICKER less T (the) + H (height)
48 One's tucked into cake and baguettes etc? (4)
PAIN I in PAN
49 Knocking Pasternak's earliest writing (7)
PINKING P(asternak) + INKING
50 Small Irish city's excluding centre as space for docks? (7)
WEEDERY WEE + DE(r)RY
51 Merry is not right - not right at all for such a person (6)
MISERY Anagram MERRY IS less R (right)
 
Down
1 Monk, having lost trace of rosary, makes a fuss (6)
BOTHER BROTHER less R(osary)
2 More than one key ring's deposited in bank (6)
ATOLLS TOLL in AS
3 Lottery special gets little profit at first (5)
SWEEP S (special) + WEE + P(rofit)
4 A boy keeping well? The reverse, being ill (6)
MALADY A LAD in MY
5 Here's a pen, look! (5)
STYLO STY + LO
6 Hasty prophecy goes wrong - you need some sort of cure (13)
PSYCHOTHERAPY Anagram HASTY PROPHECY
7 Cool snack? Love coming for first bite of it in trendy pub (7)
CHOC-BAR CHIC BAR changing I(t)  to O
8 Foundation of rock is hard, solid graphite (4)
KISH Hidden
9 The place for filming one African rhino (4)
LOTA LOT + A (rhino=cash)
10 Maybe iron lady leads North East Run (6)
EVENER EVE plus NE + R (run)
11 Scoff at crop returns (3)
DOR ROD reversed
15 Middle Eastern mount? That's about right (6)
CARMEL R in CAMEL;&lit.
17 First sign of eagle's self-confidence, raised talon (4)
OGEE E(agle) + EGO all reversed
21 Overrun the edge of parking distance in van (3)
LIP LI (distance) + P (parking)
22 What the Laughing Cavalier was not? Last to leave in time (3)
AGE AGELAST  less LAST. 
24 Time spent working, even if in the early part of life (6)
MANDAY AND in MAY
27 God causing nun to leave embrace of church? (3)
LAR CLARE less CE
28 Grain potentially stored by old yeoman (3)
DYE Hidden
29 Lake bed, initially forming a circle (7)
COTERIE COT + ERIE
31 Bird seen by harbour's edge? (4)
ROCH ROC + H(arbour); & lit.
33 Rough Glaswegian fled pawnbroker without new note (6)
RAUCLE RAN + UNCLE less N (new) + N (note)
34 Marginal teeth? Function is swallowing soft ingredients (6)
UNCINI  FUNCTION IS less anagram SOFT
36 Granny supplying cocaine in Kiel University set free (6)
LUCKIE C (cocaine) in Anagram KIEL U
37 English farmer's very much wanting earth to get crop up (6)
EMERGE E + (far)MER (less FAR) + GE (earth)
40 Like tungsten, I am lying on top of water (5)
ASWIM AS W (tungsten) + I’M
41 Balls and dances (5)
ROCKS 2 definitions!
43 To use the microwave on fried chicken - not smart but acceptable (4)
NUKE Anagram CHICKEN less CHIC plus U (acceptable)
44 Nail's useless to secure wing of airliner (4)
BRAD (airline)R in BAD
46 Fat woman is old and wide (3)
SOW ‘S + O (old) + W (wide)