A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

SHALE

Sat, 11 May '24
Burgess ___ (rock bed noted for its fossils)
Thu, 7 Mar '24
Layered rock
Wed, 8 Nov '23
Flaky rock
Fri, 14 Jul '23
Fracking target
Sun, 13 Jun '21
One source of oil
Wed, 31 Mar '21
Thin-layered sedimentary rock