A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

RUB

Sun, 24 Nov '24
Spice blend
Sun, 14 Jul '24
Barbecue coating
Sat, 20 Apr '24
Catch
Sun, 10 Dec '23
Coat for a cookout
Tue, 13 Jun '23
Cause friction
Thu, 26 May '22
Spice ___
Fri, 25 Mar '22
Difficulty
Sun, 16 Jan '22
Chafe
Wed, 2 Jun '21
"There's the ___"
Tue, 20 Apr '21
Barbecue coating
Thu, 25 Feb '21
Central difficulty
Wed, 27 Jan '21
Burnish