Clue: They can handle distraction as well as 25, 1 down, and 9, according to 23 (14)
Answer: ARITHMETICIANS
Explanation: Definition: They can handle distraction as well as 25, 1 down, and 9, according to 23
 Cryptic defn: Reference to Lewis Carroll(answer to 23 across)'s "Alice in Wonderland" in which the Mock Turtle says "'Reeling and Writhing, of course, to begin with, and then the different branches of Arithmetic — Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, and Derision." Therefore the practitioners of Arithmetic can handle Distraction, Ambition(answer to 25 across), Uglification(answer to 1 down) and Derision(answer to 9 across).