| LERMONTOV | Mikhail, Russian author of A Hero of Our Time (9) |
| READ | Enjoy "A Hero of Our Time" or "The Time of the Hero" |
| GORBACHEV | Mikhail, Russian president awarded the 1990 Nobel peace prize (9) |
| ODYSSEY | A Greek epic poem, attributed to Homer, describing the ten-year homeward wanderings of a hero of the siege of Troy (7) |
| THEOLDMAN | A hero of Hemingway's father (3,3,3) |
| COMMONERA | No REM movement penetrating the stupor of our time (6,3) |
| GLINKA | Mikhail -, Russian composer of operas A Life for the Tsar and Ruslan and Lyudmila |
| TIPPETT | Composer of A Child of Our Time (7) |
| PERISH | Die a bit of a hero in a shipwreck (6) |
| CULT | A narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family (4) |
| SAGA | A narrative telling the adventures of a hero or a family (4) |
| KALASHNIKOV | Mikhail, Russian designer of an automatic rifle (11) |
| AJAX | In Greek mythology, son of Telamon, a hero of the Trojan War (4) |
| ZACHARYTAYLOR | Twelfth President of the United States, a hero of the Mexican War (7,6) |
| ITZCHAKPERLMAN | Jewish violin maestro, one of the greatest of our time (variant spelling) (7,7) |
| ACHILLESHEEL | With reference to a hero of Homer’s Iliad, a weak spot |
| TAYLOR | Zachary ---, 12th President of the United States; a hero of the Mexican War (6) |
| INTENT | Will, a popular figure of our time |
| EARN | The simple and straight forward hero of our movies is just trying to ___ an honest living (4) |
| LAD | A Child of Our Time's opening line (3) |