Not much wrong with today’s puzzle either. My solving speeds have been indolent of late but I managed to get home in under 10 minutes at least, having the most trouble in the NW but only because I decided that “extremely artificial” had to be AL and entered LOTUS PETAL in at 1ac, which even the least observant will notice isn’t actually a flower but a Magic: The Gathering card. COD-wise I liked the obscure mythological reference at 23ac but wondered if it might cause the less classically-inclined to roll their eyes; my actual clue of the day I think is 15dn, just because there’s always something funny about a “little man”, especially as the season of Santa’s 21ac helpers approachers.
So many festive thanks to the setter – and all the setters who contributed a clue to the Christmas Turkey 2016 too! Has anyone worked out which clue there was so ridiculously overwrought it simply had to be a 
verlaine effort, yet?
Across
1 Girl describing daisy: extremely artificial flower (5,5)
LADY’S SMOCK – LASS [girl] “describing” D{ais}Y [“…extremely”] + MOCK [artificial]
6 Scotsman’s recalled fraudster’s business (4)
SCAM – reverse of MAC’S [Scotsman’s “recalled”]
9 Undisclosed strain stops nude wrestling (7)
UNAIRED – AIR [strain] “stops” (NUDE*) [“wrestling”]
10 Like PC in office, say, not performing as expected (7)
OFFBEAT – a copper out an about is ON his BEAT, one doing paperwork at his desk OFF it.
12 Collection of stones from England that man’s pocketing (5)
HENGE – ENG [England] that HE [man] “is pocketing”
13 Republican kept in his place, thrashing round (9)
SPHERICAL – R [Republican] kept in (HIS PLACE*) [“thrashing”]
14 Lawman historically went sober: returns, briefly, drunk (3,6,6)
BOW STREET RUNNER – (WENT SOBER RETURN{s}*) [“briefly”, “drunk”]
17 Chosen method of questioning on bench a lobbying issue (9,6)
ELECTORAL REFORM – ELECT ORAL RE FORM [chosen | method of questioning | on | bench]
20 Fight after lone woman secures new alternative to pot (6,3)
WINDOW BOX – BOX [fight] after WIDOW [lone woman] “secures” N [new]
21 Bilingually, the ending’s short and sweet (5)
ELFIN – EL [Spanish for “the”] + FIN [French for “ending”]
23 Herb in drink returned Medusa’s offspring (7)
PEGASUS – SAGE [herb] in SUP [drink], all reversed [“…returned”]
24 Priest, gathering town’s last holy men, joins service (7)
ENLISTS – ELI [priest] “gathering” {tow}N + STS [holy men]
25 Woman‘s desire for sex with husband (4)
RUTH – RUT [desire for sex] with H [husband]
26 Game in which kitty’s taken care of? (4,6)
CAT’S CRADLE – a cryptic definition. I don’t think you’re *actually* building a comfy hammock for a cat when you play cat’s cradle, but that’s certainly what the name would suggest.
Down
1 Ridiculous huge ball bouncing round area (9)
LAUGHABLE – (HUGE BALL*) [“bouncing”] round A [area]
2 Troops involved in clash to clear out (5)
DRAIN – R.A. [troops] “involved” in DIN [clash]
3 Covert criminal trio pursues it (13)
SURREPTITIOUS – (TRIO PURSUES IT*) [“criminal”]
4 Milliner, second on street going into decline (7)
MODISTE – MO [second], on ST [street] “going into” DIE [decline]
5 Note there’s no time earlier for fancy work (7)
CROCHET – CRO{t}CHET [note – missing its “earlier” T for time but not its subsequent one]
7 Endless fuss during part of Mass getting louder (9)
CRESCENDO – SCEN{e} [“endless” fuss] during CREDO [part of Mass]
8 Eg Iron Maiden recently sent up (5)
METAL – M [maiden] + reverse of LATE [recently “sent up”]
11 Forecaster‘s wealth laid on counter (7,6)
FORTUNE TELLER – FORTUNE [wealth], above TELLER [counter]
15 Little man on board at end of working day? (9)
WEEKNIGHT – WEE KNIGHT [little | man on board]
16 Different engineers garaging cars take a backward glance (9)
REMINISCE – R.E. & C.E. [different engineers (royal and civil)] “garaging” MINIS [cars]
18 Rude American’s top source of coffee (7)
ROBUSTA – ROBUST [rude] + A{merican}
19 Times blocks passages with singular lack of concern (7)
LAXNESS – X [times] “blocks” LANES [passages] with S [singular]
20 Returning traveller, one with wet weather equipment (5)
WIPER – REP I W [traveller | one | with], all reversed [“returning…”]
22 Blended in a stew half-heartedly (5)
FUSED – FU{Ss}ED [in a stew “half-heartedly”]
Christmas Turkey? Overwrought leads me to 13a?
FOI 26ac CATS CRADLE LOI 2dn DRAIN (the swamp)
COD 13ac SPHERICAL
As for your Christmas clue, Mr. Verlaine, I have my suspicions. (Free Fevvers!?)
I was half expecting to get ANAGRIND…..!
p.s. love the hat.
Edited at 2016-12-16 10:37 am (UTC)
And yes, a henge isn’t necessarily “a collection of stones” but this definition is fair enough.
Spurred on by doing the Turkey last night I thought I’d make an effort to complete today’s 15×15 and did get there in the end, though for a few minutes all I had was the aforementioned HENGE. I saw METAL too but didn’t put it in because I couldn’t parse it (thinking that “eg Iron Maiden” was the def). I cheated on PEGASUS and MODISTE, and ROBUSTA and LADYS SMOCK I got from the wordplay, the latter only once the M and C were in place. For a while I thought it must be something CANAL (artificial flower, geddit?)…
LOI DRAIN, COD RUTH.
Edited at 2016-12-16 03:40 pm (UTC)
Last one in the unknown but ‘had to be’ ROBUSTA — presumably so-named because, according to Chambers, it’s more resistant to disease than other coffee strains.
I liked the WINDOW BOX but COD has to be giggleworthy ELFIN (Franish? Sprench?
Thanks of the Turkey yesterday, Sarah, still pondering over the parsings for some of them… looking forward to elucidation next week!
Stonehenge indeed seems a tautology although I never noticed it before. Even when as a lad I used to wander around the site on picnics with no fences or fat controllers in evidence. But a henge can be wooden as well as stones (as is likely Stonehenge was a mixture, originally).
GeoffH
WEEKNIGHT is a favourite word of mine, love those adverts on TV advertising their own programmes, one day one of thise continuity people will mispronounce it. Like ELFIN too. Thanks V and setter.
Much to like in the turkey, as well as this. Even with an unknown plant (tautology), unknown classics (guessed PERSEUS from the P/SUP – erse as a herb?), unknown hatter, and a few barely knowns it still came in at a reasonable 24:37.
Liked SPHERICAL, RUTH, WIPER, WEEKNIGHT and the Iron Maiden lift-and-separate.
Thanks
As Keriothe said, lots of unknowns to construct from the wordplay, so a very satisfying solve in the end.
COD to ELFIN, I think. Thanks setter and Verlaine.
About 45 minutes, split between the coffee shop, waiting in the car for Mrs. davest and cuddling the dog, who, as usual, was no help at all.
Thank you to setter and blogger.
Unlike Border Collies – the Einsteins of doggydom – Jack Russells are renowned for their inability to obey, think straight or tackle even the easiest crosswords.
Cute little suckers, though.
Given the existence of Woodhenge, 12ac appears to be simply an unheralded “definition by example” clue, and thus the sort of thing that Ximenes objected to. But who cares? (Well, not me, anyway.)