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ACROSS

 7 Grow fennel and holly in a special arrangement for poet (5,10)

 9 Ultimately, bolt and locks outside home provide a place to disappear into (4,3)

10 Have an inkling that American chief of police is infiltrating splinter group (7)

11 Color of a city in Vietnam (3)

12 Start of a quote (3,2,2,4)

15 Continuation of the quote (3,2,2,3)

17 Bug next to empty chimney (4)

19 Anachronistic extension of the quote (5,2,2,3)

24 Civic leader wearing open shoe? It’s shocking (7)

25 Heard in the middle of Smolensk: “We zealots exert pressure” (7)

26 Idle verse: a purer version is this puzzle’s theme (4,7,4)

DOWN

 1 Unconventional protagonist’s ego invested in part of a flower with a ring (8)

 2 Monday is ruined for a high-energy person (6)

 3 Being on the wagon, drunkard eats cheese at health club (8)

 4 Garage sale is taking a long time (4)

 5 Returning group of Buckeyes rejected shirt (6)

 6 What you are reading is oddly cultured (4)

 7 Star performers with a double dose of lust (8)

 8 Retreated, accompanied by a teenage detective (8)

13 Peasant rises to swallow beer as clumsily as some drug users (10)

14 Every generic mixture is like pollen (10)

16 They’re defensive if upset over religious authorities (8)

18 Appreciates US veal in a stew (6)

20 Pause in greeting, facing you and me (6)

21 Enamored of Olive, madly eating heart of spinach (2,4)

22 Reply to invitation from extremely reckless Joe Biden (4)

23 Present an ingredient for quiche recipe (4)

SOLUTION TO PUZZLE NO. 3351  

ACROSS 1 pun 9 VEST + [t]IGE[r] 10 ADAM + ANT 11 LENG (anag.) + TH[e] 12 SP(ITF)IRE (fit anag.) 14 AL(BAT)ROSS 16 B + LOCK 17 S + TORE 18 L + ATITUDES (situated anag.) 20 PLAYM (anag.) + ATE 22 RE(E)FER 25 NOC (rev.) + AND + O 26 LEI + SURE (&lit.) 27 anag.

DOWN 1 N([gr]OV[es])ELLA (Allen rev.) 2 hidden 3 ARIS(TO)TLE (realist anag.) 4 M + EEK 5 anag. 6 ENAC + T (cane rev.) 7 MA + RIG + OLD 8 ST(R)EAK 13 TOILE (rev.) + TROLL 15 B(ROMAN)C + E 16 BUTTE RING 17 S(U)PINE 19 S[t]URGEON 21 anag. 23 F + LUTE (&lit.?) 24 hidden