The Herald crosswords
ACROSS
1 Alien captain with hauler in star system (5,8) 8 Plant, one beside river (4) 9 Sometimes acceptable, cocoa is drunk before November (2,8) 10 Headwear modelled, going around a Parisian hotel (6) 11 Remarking about Boz and another around fire (8) 12 Move around centre of Delhi working small clubs (9) 14 Airman forgetting current plan (4) 15 Characters back in post, safe and secure (4) 16 Inheritance tax from dad with hut yet to be sorted (5,4) 20 Person gets on when probed by right bosses (8) 21 Cover one nurse straightened out (6) 23 Deep sorrow? Try time and rest (10) 24 Nothing twitching in the ear (4) 25 Confuses crew being in a bygone type of boat (6,7)
DOWN
1 Increase of a mean reported (7) 2 Jaunty Hamish's heading for Scots city (5) 3 Send in beer for faithful supporter (7) 4 European with still head showing apathy (15) 5 Strange tone engulfing church is type of music (6) 6 In shifting dune, burrow left open (9) 7 Resolve one negative in defeat (4,3) 13 Wished to hug father that's anguished (9) 15 Occurrence of signal overhead (5-2) 17 Con banks in Lille and run (7) 18 King involved in dreadful tirade later (7) 19 Creature from Germany with short beak (6) 22 Almost save male in attack (5)
ACROSS
3 Headed (3) 7 Fastening fabric (6) 8 Chief journalist (6) 9 Oil distilled from petroleum (8) 10 Matting fibre (4) 11 Unfocused (6) 12 Notwithstanding that (6) 15 Festivity (6) 18 Eulogise (6) 20 Slowly leak water (4) 22 Witness, observer (8) 23 Pixie (6) 24 Puzzling riddle (6) 25 ___ ‘Going Out’, Lee Mack comedy series (3)
DOWN
1 Edible grain (6) 2 High award or honour (8) 3 Adorable, charming (6) 4 Discern (6) 5 Constituent of brass (4) 6 Putting seeds into the ground (6) 11 Marshy area (3) 13 Religious choral work (8) 14 Garden implement (3) 16 Terse (6) 17 Old royal attendants (6) 18 Moulding used to conceal curtain rails (6) 19 Misty due to condensed vapour (6) 21 Bucket (4)