Cryptic crossword clue
Swimming right into animal, getting hit 12

The most common and most likely answer to this crossword clue is the 12 letter word BREASTSTROKE

I've seen this crossword clue in The Times
B
R
E
A
S
T
S
T
R
O
K
E

Buddy explains!

The straight part
We know that "Swimming" is the straight/definition part of the clue. The straight part is often a synonym or definition, in this case swimming = breaststroke.
The cryptic/wordplay part
In cryptic crossword there's often an wordplay/cryptic part as well.
This part involves a more complex hint, such as an anagram, homophone, hidden word, etc.
Sadly, We don't have an explanation for this specific crossword clue yet.

What does BREASTSTROKE mean?

BREASTSTROKE noun
  1. A swimming stroke in which the swimmer lies face down, the arms being swept forward, outward and back under the water and the legs are kicked like a frog's
BREASTSTROKE verb
  1. To swim using this stroke

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