NUDGES:
Nudge 1] The 5 long answers are certainly odd, but do they have any commonality?
Nudge 2] How might Nudge 1 help you, particularly if you also consider nudge clue 61D?
Nudge 3] Hmmm 18A talking about smelly in a meta called "Making a Stink", wonder if that is coincidence?
Nudge 4] You may need to Google the commonality you found in the 5 themers. Google for a SSS, that stinks Tom!
Nudge 4 addendum] When Googling a chemical compound like 61D, or even water, you would probably not enter it in as HSH or HOH to get the answer. What do you know the composition of water to be?
Nudge 5] Any of our chemistry majors had the answer around theme answer 2.
This meta has an odd history. It started as an example of a difficult time I had with another meta, became a possible meta and got tested under a different name. MANY iterations later and a suggestion from the Captain on a different name, it landed in the very respectable SSS harbor. (my tireless testers were: ajk, rjy, Cap'n Rick, and David Schrager - don't be surprised if you do not recognize the meta by its new name!)
I hope you all enjoy it as much as the Captain's usual fare. I can say without fear of contradiction, it will not be as Easter Egg full, solidly clued, tightly filled or answered as delightfully as the usual SSS because it is not a Captain Rick and, well he is like a pile of wet kindling - unmatchable!
However, I think it will be fun and the AHA should be a resounding one. If rating difficulty I'd say:
Mill Pond
Gentle Ripple
*A Bit Choppy
Surfin' USA
Perfect Storm
𝙇𝘼𝙎𝙏 𝙈𝙄𝙉𝙐𝙏𝙀 𝙃𝘼𝙄𝙇 𝙈𝘼𝙍𝙔 𝙉𝙐𝘿𝙂𝙀 What is the formula for water? Apply that to what you already have.
REVEAL:
Five long answers:
HUGEHEADS
HOMEHELPS
HOBBYHATS
HAVEHOPES
HOLYHYMNS
The long answers have a commonality, all have 2 H's and one S. H2S is the chemical formula for Hydrogen Sulfide or Sewer Gas (two of the accepted answers)
Interestingly, because I erroneously said there were 4 theme answers, one solver looked for the commonality in the 4. If you do that you might end up with HHOS which is NOT a compound, BUT H2SO4 IS!!! That is sulfuric acid and since it certainly could have been an answer (it does not stink on its own but once it gets in the sewer system and runs into reducing compounds it sure does) I accepted that one as well - DCBilly had the right chemistry for that one)
For a graphic representation of the reveal go to: