A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

OPENER

Sat, 2 Nov '24
First act
Tue, 8 Oct '24
First game of the season
Sun, 29 Oct '23
Precursor to the main act (NEOPRENE)
Thu, 20 Jul '23
It comes before the main event
Thu, 30 Jun '22
Game 1 in a playoff series
Sun, 6 Mar '22
Warm-up act