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Not difficult, but there is a hidden theme not hinted at in the instructions.

PS. The hidden theme is in fact alluded to in one of the (complete) solutions.

An enjoyable puzzle, if over too soon.
I was thinking "Is that all there is?" then the penny dropped. I can see the reference to the theme in 2 solutions.
Thanks, Pasquale.

Yes Mattrom you are right, although the second which I missed, is not the usual interpretation of the solution! Might also be worth pointing out that the theme is needed to resolve a potential ambiguity in the letter(s) to be omitted.

Got it! - thanks, both. Managed to get all 25 to fit and found the central descriptors - how strange all that's not mentioned in the rubric ...

Hm..... I've finished and can see 2 'incomplete' solutions which might describe what's going on, plus one of the 4 complete solutions which could also allude to it. But that doesn't explain why some of the 25 cells have been left blank. I think I must either be on the wrong track or missing something.

Ah! and even as I type I see it. I understand all the blank cells now. Very clever! Great PDM, thanks Pasquale.

I've got a couple of questions, with, I'm sorry, a long preamble.
I have, in a way, completed the puzzle...or at least it looks like a completed puzzle.
I started by doing the usual thing I do with these sorts of instructions, i.e. looking for the four Across clues which don't involve extra letters.
I found them quickly and filled them.
Immediately after that, a thing happened which might sometimes happen to some of you as well. For no reason at all, and despite the instructions not hinting that there is a theme, out of the blue I thought, "This puzzle is about (the theme)". A propos of absolutely nothing.
After that, it didn't take me very long to fill in what I've filled in.
What I've ended up with is:
a fully completed grid in which--
-All of the answers match their clue definitions
-Two of the within-the-grid answers refer to the theme
-Four thematic answers result from the grid, rather than the clues
and
-a list of missing letters, which were needed to create the thematic-related fill.

My questions are:

What squares am I supposed to leave empty and why? The omitted letters helped to create theme-related answers, and I could place them where they needed to be, creating real-word answers--both thematic and non-thematic.

What are the parsings for the two within-the-grid thematic words? These are the words that occurred to me out of the blue, seem to be correct and now I can't think backwards about them...since they did drop, but without a penny.

I could submit what I've got, which looks like a normal, completely filled grid.
But the instructions say I should have empty squares and non-words--and i have neither.
Whatever it is I've done, I did have fun doing it...

Hi Dove
Sounds like you have all the solutions, if not the parsing. For the two in-grid thematic answers - can't be too explicit as that reveals which they are

The numerically earlier full solution is defined by the first word, and the (abbreviated) version is a synonym for the last two words inserted into a synonym for the remaining word

The second full solution is defined by the last two words, with the word play a synonym for the first plus a synonym for the second.

Hope you can follow this rather vague suggestion!

Thanks buzzybee

Considering how vague we're both trying to be in order to not give anything away, your response is so cogent!

Using your hints to try to parse what I've ended up with, the second solution is as you describe, and required something extra in order to fill.

Parsing-wise, I still don't exactly see the first one. Definition-wise, current conditions being what they are, the solution describes both how my emotional state feels, and an activity I've had to do for myself that I'd normally have (much-needed) help with--(and the second one might, if I were a bloke...).

What I've got, though, doesn't involve 25 blank spaces or any non-words.

I think my confusion results from my having located and filled the four normal across solutions, had the for-no-reason intuition flash, which caused me to fill in these two theme-related clues without having to parse them very specifically (I just thought "close enough...") , and then to be able to fill in the rest of the nicely-clued solutions, using both the clues and the omitted-letters hint to do that. Now I can't get my head to work backwards.

It's either that, or I've managed to create a very smoothly clued, thematic puzzle which actually doesn't exist. Supported by the coincidence that, just as I finished it, "A Hard Day's Night" came on the film channel, and I watched it whilst feeling it confirmed my intuition, if you know what I mean.

I'm trying to remember if I've ever before been stumped by the grid and submission requirements rather than the clues. It's odd...yet it's fun.

Hi Dove,
In the 'first one' you'll see a word which is a synonym of the themed words you have mentioned.
The wordplay refers to the remaining letters.
Just follow the instructions in the last sentence of the preamble for submission.