A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

MELEE

Thu, 17 Nov '22
*Spike ___
Fri, 5 Aug '22
Fracas
Fri, 1 Jul '22
Rumpus
Sun, 12 Sep '21
Chaotic skirmish
Wed, 26 May '21
Hockey game interruption, maybe
Fri, 14 May '21
Hockey game highlight, for some