| 100% | MIKEHAMMER | 10 | Private eye in novels by Mickey Spillane, such as I, the Jury and My Gun Is Quick |
| 98% | HAMMER | 6 | Mike —, private eye in novels by Mickey Spillane, such as I, the Jury and My Gun Is Quick |
| 33% | MIKEHAMMER | 10 | Private investigator created by Mickey Spillane played by 43-Across in the 1980s and 1990s (2 wds.) |
| 31% | MATT | 4 | American spy in novels by Donald Hamilton such as The Damagers |
| 30% | AREA | 4 | "I was in the ___ and thought I'd drop by" |
| 29% | SURVIVOR | 8 | 1999 satirical novel by Chuck Palahniuk in which the chapters and pages are numbered backwards |
| 29% | DAN | 3 | I wrote the Robert Langdon series and three of my novels were adapted into films |
| 29% | LOOK | 4 | "___ Me in the Eye: My Life with Asperger's" (memoir by John Elder Robison) |
| 28% | FRANCES | 7 | I was the former president of the NRDC and won the Rachel Carson Award in 2007 for my work as an environmentalist |
| 28% | SPILLANE | 8 | Mickey —, author of novels I, the Jury and The Erection Set |
| 28% | ITHEJURY | 8 | 1947 debut novel by Mickey Spillane whose protagonist is Mike Hammer |
| 27% | TOLLS | 5 | "For Whom the Bell ___," novel by Ernest Hemingway, set in the Spanish Civil War and is regarded as one of his best works |
| 27% | AMY | 3 | I shared my name with the character I played in "Her" and I've been nominated for the Oscars six times |
| 27% | EAST | 4 | "My heart is in the ___, and I in the uttermost west" |
| 27% | CERSEI | 6 | I am Jaime's twin sister and two of my children have sat on the Iron Throne in "Game of Thrones" |
| 27% | RUNNINGONEMPTY | 14 | 1978 single by 42-Across with the lyric "In '69, I was 21 and I called the road my own" (3 wds.) |
| 27% | PETE | 4 | I became the number one tennis player in 1993 and my record of 14 Grand Slams was surpassed by Federer in 2009 |
| 26% | PEA | 3 | "A seed with three letters in my name. Take away two and I still sound the same. What am I?" |
| 26% | BOSS | 4 | "___ of Me," 2001 song by They Might Be Giants and theme song of the family sitcom "Malcolm in the Middle" |
| 26% | PUNINTENDED | 11 | Addendum to a statement such as “My violin teacher was instrumental in getting me into Juilliard” |
| 26% | BONO | 4 | I am a member of U2 and was named one of the Time Persons of the Year in 2005 for my philanthropic efforts |
| 26% | MILAN | 5 | I'm a city in Italy and my nickname is "Fashion Capital of the World" |
| 26% | PETULENGRO | 10 | Jasper —, character in novels by George Borrow including The Romany Rye and Lavengro |
| 26% | SHADESOFGREY | 12 | "Fifty ___," erotic novel trilogy written by E.L. James in which the main characters are Christian Grey and Ana Steele: 3 wds. |
| 26% | HEAD | 4 | *"I Woke Up with This Song in My ___ This Morning," song by the Bright Eyes |
| 25% | JOHN | 4 | I wrote "The Fault in Our Stars" and two of my books have been adapted into films |
| 25% | ANTLERS | 7 | “I use ___ in all of my decorating” (lyric sung by Gaston, in “Beauty and the Beast”) |
| 25% | MIKEHAMMER | 10 | ''I, the Jury'' private EYE |
| 25% | INACROWN | 8 | "You Should See Me ___," Billie Eilish song released in 2018 and the title of which was inspired by a scene from "Sherlock": 3 wds. |
| 25% | YOU | 3 | "Me Before ___," 2012 novel by Jojo Moyes which depicts the story of Louisa Clark and Will Traynor |