Crossword Genius

Twice left to follow the empty but heroic archer (4)

Ross

I believe the answer is:

tell

I'm a little stuck... Click here to teach me more about this clue!

'heroic archer' is the definition.
'Tell' can be an answer for 'archer' (folk hero William Tell). I am unsure of the 'heroic' bit.

'twice left to follow the empty' is the wordplay.
'twice' shows that letters should be duplicated.
'left' becomes 'l' (common abbreviation).
'to follow' says to put letters next to each other (some letters go after or follow others).
'empty' means to remove the middle letters.
'the' with its middle removed is 'te'.
'l' doubled is 'll'.
'll' put after 'te' is 'TELL'.

'but' is the link.

Can you help me to learn more?

(Other definitions for tell that I've seen before include "... national hero" , "Make an impact" , "Instruct" , "Apprise" , "Count - give an account" .)

I've seen this clue in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Want a hint initially instead of a full solution? Install my app