A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

SNAKE

Tue, 23 Jan '24
Plumber's drain-clearing device
Fri, 3 Nov '23
No-good conniver
Tue, 3 Oct '23
Creature that grows longer in a classic video game (also in this puzzle, when it "eats" a black square)
Wed, 28 Jun '23
With 38-Across, hidden traitor
Mon, 12 Apr '21
Type not to be trusted