No.11270, Friday 19 Dec 2014, xChequer

Devious as ever, but probably a wee bit easier than yesterday ;-) With xC, mere solving is but one step, the anno is a different ballgame altogether. 8d my COD

Across
7 Hands card with threat (6) MENACE (MEN ACE)
8 Cancelled plenty of shifts (8) OFFLOADS (OFF LOADS)
9 Chap mainly needed on machine breaking down (8) MECHANIC (Chap +MACHINE)* &LIT
10 Puts up with upright son (6) ERECTS (ERECT S)
11 Tough bow? Just the opposite (5) STERN (2) ref to bow of a ship
12 Paid for pleasure, ecstasy missing in the act (6) FUNDED (FUN DeED)
14 Resistance in essence comes to mere stonewalling, one at a time or in parallel (15) CORRESPONDINGLY (R in CORE(=essence) + POND= Mere stonewalling? in SINGLY=one at a time) See comments
17 Revolting act associated with a very old profession (6) AVOWAL (A V O LAW<)
18 Fancy display by an unknown entity (5) SHOWY (SHOW Y)
22 Condition requiring learner to wear scrubs (6) HEALTH (L in HEATH=scrubs)
23 Undecided hands overcome by inertia replaced (2,3,3) IN THE AIR (H in INERTIA*)
24 Inevitably execution has man getting axed (8) PERFORCE (PERFORmanCE)
25 Throw a fit to date man about town (6) SEETHE (SEE HE around T)
         Mohsin, couldn't help but remember you here ... ;-)
Down
1 School noticed holding record for cheating (9) DECEPTION (NOTICED* holding EP)
2 Marshal revealing gun to man pursued by Rangers (6) GATHER (GAT HE R)
3 Stands for instruments (5) MEANS (2)
4 Away at finish, journalist gets upset (8) OFFENDED (OFF END ED)
5 Model to wear clothes originally intended for a god (8) POSEIDON (POSE DON around Intended)
6 Notice to sit properly in passages for access (5) ADITS (AD SIT*)
8 Formerly used at the start in old novel, ancient poem (4,4,1,4) ONCE UPON A TIME (Used in Old (ANCIENT POEM)*)  phew!
13 Class in boxing with primarily young people in general going through a set of steps (9) FLYWEIGHT (Young WE (people in general) in FLIGHT=set of steps)
15 Touching upon each and every condition on earth in the practical world (4,4) REAL LIFE (RE ALL(each and every) IF(condition) Earth)
16 Extremely silly to keep mum if suffocating (8) SMOTHERY (MOTHER in SillY)
19 Paid careful attention to hours polling required (6) HEEDED (H nEEDED?) polling=cutting the horns/hair off.   Next time, I'm gonna ask my hairdresser to poll me. I hope he does not refer the dictionary and behead me! Watch this space!
20 Craft beer having distribution cap (5) BERET (BEER* T)
21 Band holds tickets initially in reserve (5) STASH (Tickets in SASH)

GRID