Husker Gary here having a swimmingly good time blogging Dr. Pawel Fludzinski's (Ph.D in Synthetic Organic Chemistry) lovely mid-week puzzle that he has synthesized for us. The first word in each of the good doctor's theme fills are the names of the strokes employed by swimmers in the Relay Medley swim event in the order in which they occur for the Team Event.
This is a very timely theme in this Olympic year and for the third straight Olympics, America's Swim Trials will be held in a facility 45 minutes from me.
If you've been following the news from Rio, swimming in the pool is far more preferable to participating in any event held in their polluted waters.
Theme Answers
17. 1985 film featuring Doc Brown and Marty McFly : BACK TO THE FUTURE - A SWIM STROKE with a good view of the ceiling OR a fabulous movie
22. Possible place for a train ticket : BREAST POCKET - A SWIM STROKE where the chest and torso do not rotate and is sometimes called the frog stroke OR where some pols are purported to live
37. Concept that small changes can have large consequences, as in theoretical time travel : BUTTERFLY EFFECT- A SWIM STROKE similar to the breaststroke but accompanied by two dolphin kicks per cycle OR an effect explained by Jeff Goldblum as he was enlightening (read hustling) Laura Dern in Jurassic Park - If a butterfly flaps its wings in Tokyo, there will be rain in Central Park
46. Improvisational music genre : FREESTYLE RAP - The final SWIM STROKE in the race which can not be any of the previous strokes and is usually the Crawl OR RAPPING by creating lyrics off the top of the RAPPER'S head. Hmmm... what rhymes with...
And the reveal
56. Olympic medley found in order at the starts of this puzzle's four other longest answers : SWIMMING STROKES
Here are all four strokes in the order they occur in the Individual Medley. The relay event Dr. Fludzinski was referencing has to start with the backstroker in the water to avoid a collision when the previous swimmer touches the wall.
Across
1. Gin and tonic, e.g. : NOUNS - Erase DRINK and put in a part of speech
6. Outback birds : EMUS
10. "Pardon the Interruption" channel : ESPN - I'm a big fan of curmudgeon Tony Kornhesier
14. Photographer Leibovitz : ANNIE
15. Island hoppers : SEA PLANES - I'll bet most of you know the rhyming name of this huge SEA PLANE that only flew once
19. Sesame __ : OIL
20. Julio to julio : ANO - July to July in Español
21. Potter's practice : MAGIC - Harry's forte not Doc Potter's from M*A*S*H
27. AFL partner : CIO
28. __ Bator : ULAN - Rent an apartment in this building in ULAN BATOR for 1,650,000₮ (Mongolian Tughriks) or $810/month
29. Dude : BRO
32. How storybooks are often read : ALOUD
35. Bibliography abbr. : ET AL - Oh how I hate(d) typing bibliographies!!
36. "Nessun dorma," e.g. : ARIA - "None Shall Sleep" from Puccini's Turandot. There may be better but I've not heard them
40. Cheese with an edible rind : BRIE
41. Shakes a leg : HIES
42. White House staffers : AIDES
43. "You got it!" : YES
44. Bombard : PELT - Wisconsin cheerleaders had to take cover last year after being PELTED with snowballs from Wisconsin fans
45. Michael Caine title : SIR
51. Pastoral tribe of Kenya : MASAI - By the looks of this MASAI Jumping dance, these guys could play in the NBA
54. Sch. with a Phoenix campus : ASU
55. "__ you nuts?" : ARE
61. Heredity sources : GENE POOLS
62. Gala or ball : EVENT
63. Got off the ground : TEED - We'll be TEEING the ball up regularly very soon
64. Brogan or brogue : SHOE
65. Fizzy beverages : SODAS - Not thirst quenching to me
Down:
1. Big wheel : NABOB
2. Broadcast sign : ON AIR
3. Claudius, to Caligula : UNCLE - Claudius succeeded his nephew when Caligula was assassinated in 41 A.D. How 'bout that GENE POOL
4. Suffix with peace : NIK
5. Shelve : SET ASIDE
6. Legally prohibit : ESTOP
7. "Whatevs" : MEH
8. Oil-rich fed. : UAE
9. 50+, e.g., on a L'Oréal tube: Abbr. : SPF - OK, here 'ya go
10. Erode : EAT AT
11. Form-fitting : SNUG
12. Meter starter? : PERI - From the Greek peri - 'about, 'around
13. Fraction of a min. : NSEC - 1 NanoSEC : 1 SEC as 1 SEC : 31.7 years
16. Light bulb unit : LUMEN - LUMENS required on a ball diamond
18. Hip about : ONTO
23. Under 90 degrees : ACUTE
24. Factory stores : OUTLETS - They don't seem cheaper to me
25. Potter's supplies : CLAYS
26. Mustard family member : KALE
29. Born partner : BRED
30. Stuffed pepper filling : RICE
31. Wild things to sow : OATS - ...and hope for a crop failure
32. First name in advice : ABBY - One of those Sioux City, IA twins
33. It may be found at the end of the line : LURE - In Julian Lim's Saturday brain buster it was clued "Fly, commonly"
34. Big name in elevators : OTIS - OTIS made elevators common when he invented the safety brake which he demonstrated by cutting the supporting rope and only falling inches
35. Taxpayer's option : E-FILE - Got my money back within 10 days
36. Burning : AFIRE
38. South Korea's first president : RHEE - Born Yi Su‧ng-man and westernized his name to Syngman RHEE
39. Learning opportunities for many : FAILURES - How do telemarketers keep going?
44. Do the do just so : PRIMP
45. Betting aid: Abbr. : SYST
46. Renowned : FAMED
47. Café cup : TASSE
48. Did a fall chore : RAKED - All for naught!
49. Venue that often sells its naming rights : ARENA - Those swim trials are held in the Century Link ARENA in Omaha
50. Kid brothers or sisters, at times : PESTS
51. High-ranking NCO : MSGT - Most critics said MSGT Bilko should have been left to Phil Silvers
53. Trig ratio : SINE
57. Apple mobile platform : IOS
58. Japanese drama : NOH - Japanese for "skill" or "talent". Yeah, I knew that...
59. Shine, in brand names : GLO
60. Ab __: from day one : OVO - Didn't see until perps filled it in. You can't get more day one than OVO (egg)
Okay, let's hear some freestyle comments from you but please stay in your own lane!
GRID
