A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

Wed, 2 Oct '24: Member of a historically privileged U.S. group
Tue, 16 Jul '24: Yellow jacket, e.g.
Mon, 15 Apr '24: Yellow jacket, e.g.
Sat, 2 Dec '23: The fairyfly (the smallest known insect in the world) is one
Mon, 6 Nov '23: Insect with a sting
Wed, 26 Apr '23: Stingy sort?
Sat, 25 Mar '23: The deceptively named tarantula hawk, for one
Sun, 4 Sep '22: Yellow jacket, for one
Thu, 25 Nov '21: Builder of a papery nest
Wed, 10 Mar '21: Center of a sting operation?
Mon, 8 Feb '21: "Ant-Man and the ___" (2018 film)