| 100% | WAR | 3 | "Fear cloaked in courage," according to William Westmoreland |
| 39% | IMO | 3 | According to me, in textspeak: Abbr. |
| 37% | THENACLOFTHEEARTH | 17 | You, according to Jesus in Matthew 5:13 |
| 36% | PANIC | 5 | Give in to fear |
| 35% | ANUT | 4 | What everybody loves according to Johnny Cash in the sixties |
| 35% | RECOIL | 6 | To react by cringing; to flinch in fear |
| 35% | BRAVERY | 7 | Having courage to face your fears |
| 35% | ROAR | 4 | Sound to fear in the savanna |
| 35% | OYSTER | 6 | The world, according to Pistol, in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" |
| 34% | REAPER | 6 | Feared in Blue Oyster Cult's ode to thanatophobia |
| 34% | ANGELS | 6 | They fear to tread where fools rush in |
| 33% | SLEEP | 5 | According to Nas in "N.Y. State of Mind" this is the cousin of death |
| 33% | KGB | 3 | According to his official biography, Vladimir Putin burned files of this org. in November 1989 |
| 33% | NOOL | 4 | According to the Sour Kangaroo, Horton was "the biggest blame fool in the jungle of ___" |
| 33% | POPE | 4 | "Fools rush in where angels fear to tread" writer |
| 33% | PISANIO | 7 | Servant to Posthumus in the William Shakespeare play Cymbeline |
| 33% | LYCHORIDA | 9 | Nurse to Marina in the William Shakespeare play Pericles |
| 33% | IACHIMO | 7 | Italian friend to Philario in William Shakespeare play Cymbeline |
| 33% | EADIE | 5 | According to Ethel Merman in "Take a Chance", this lady "had class, with a capital K" |
| 33% | TOWN | 4 | Where Santa Claus is coming, according to Bruce Springsteen in a 1985 Christmas song? |
| 32% | ANGELO | 6 | Deputy to Vincentio in William Shakespeare play Measure for Measure |
| 32% | SHATNER | 7 | "Star Trek" actor William who went to space in 2021 |
| 32% | EPHRAIM | 7 | Second son of Joseph and Asenath according to the Book of Genesis in the Bible |
| 32% | IMO | 3 | "According to me," in shorthand |
| 32% | IMO | 3 | "According to me," in textspeak |
| 32% | DOUG | 4 | ___ Williams, first Black quarterback to start in, and win, a 15 Across |
| 32% | MENAS | 5 | Friend to Sextus Pompey in William Shakespeare play Antony and Cleopatra |
| 32% | ESCANES | 7 | Lord of Tyre in William Shakespeare play Pericles; respondent to Helicanus |
| 32% | MENECRATES | 10 | Pirate friend to Pompey in William Shakespeare play Antony and Cleopatra |
| 32% | BASSANIO | 8 | Suitor to Portia in William Shakespeare play The Merchant of Venice |