Word: bladeful
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Last week, on a clear afternoon, disaster occurred. Half a dozen people had already boarded Flight 972 bound for Kennedy, and another dozen were waiting in line as the helicopter's five-blade rotor whirled 17 ft. above their heads. Gradually the big blue-and-white helicopter rolled over on its right side. The rotating blades tilted downward, slicing into three male bystanders and badly injuring a fourth, an Italian visitor, who later died. Some of the blades hit the concrete roof and disintegrated, pieces striking people on the walkway; ten were injured. Part of a blade plummeted...
recovery: the final part of the stroke when the oar blade is moved above the water, back to the point where the next stroke begins again...
feather: the pre-requisite for recovery. Feathering is the wrist action that turns the blade parallel to the water so it can be moved in the recovery without touching any water. A recovery without a feather is like Chem 20 without pre-meds--impossible...
skying: dropping your hands at the catch so that the oar's blade lofts into the sky. Useful for killing low-flying seagulls...
washing out: lifting water with the blade at the release. (Can be handy if you wish to splash the person next to you in the face...