| 100% | TESS | 4 | Thomas Hardy heroine who's described as "a pure woman" |
| 40% | TESS | 4 | Thomas Hardy's "Pure Woman" |
| 37% | XENA | 4 | TV heroine who wielded a chakram as a weapon |
| 36% | TESS | 4 | Hardy's "A Pure Woman Faithfully Presented" |
| 36% | TESS | 4 | , 19A & 22A 1892 book by Thomas Hardy subtitled A Pure Woman |
| 36% | EYRE | 4 | Literary heroine who described herself as "poor, obscure, plain and little" |
| 35% | GONE | 4 | With 31-Across, 2014 film starring Rosamund Pike as a woman who disappeared |
| 35% | GEORGE | 6 | Frank Costanza's neurotic son who Elaine described as a "short, stocky, slow-witted, bald man" |
| 35% | ANGEL | 5 | Character in Thomas Hardy novel Tess of the D'Urbervilles who marries the heroine |
| 35% | TESS | 4 | Thomas Hardy heroine |
| 34% | BAST | 4 | Egyptian goddess who is depicted as a cat-headed woman |
| 33% | COCAINEBEAR | 11 | 2023 movie starring Keri Russell as a woman who encounters a rampaging forest animal: 2 wds. |
| 33% | AIMEE | 5 | Mann who's a woman |
| 33% | AHAB | 4 | Melville character who describes himself as “more a demon than a man” |
| 33% | THERETURNOFTHENAIVE | 19 | Thomas Hardy book about a taxpayer's deductions for groceries? |
| 33% | ROSALIND | 8 | Shakespeare heroine who, dressed as a man, flees with her friend Celia in "As You Like It" |
| 33% | THENEWMUTANTS | 13 | 2020 Marvel movie starring 34-Across as a woman who can turn into a wolf: 3 wds. |
| 33% | FOOLSRUSHIN | 11 | 1997 rom-com starring Salma Hayek as a woman who marries her one-night stand: 3 wds. |
| 33% | SMARTCOOKIE | 11 | Person who's sharp as a tack |
| 33% | TEAMPLAYER | 10 | One who can hardly be described as a narcissist |
| 32% | NEWSOM | 6 | Artist described as "The Indie Singer-Harpist Who Met the Orchestra" in a 2008 New York Times article |
| 32% | TESS | 4 | Title woman in a Thomas Hardy novel |
| 32% | ETHANFROME | 10 | Edith Wharton character who is described as a “ruin of a man” after surviving a crash |
| 32% | MOE | 3 | "Calvin and Hobbes" character described as "a six-year-old who shaves" |
| 32% | SAYONARA | 8 | 1957 film starring Marlon Brando as a US Air Force pilot in Japan who falls for a local woman |
| 32% | EVICT | 5 | Throw out, as a tenant who's wrecked the place |
| 32% | OCHS | 4 | Phil who described himself as a "singing journalist" |
| 32% | CROSSOVER | 9 | Adjective describing a performer like 30-Across who's successful singing pop as well as classical music |
| 32% | EMMA | 4 | Character described by Austen as "a heroine whom no one but myself will much like" |