A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

TENSE

Wed, 1 Jan '25
Past, present or future
Sat, 28 Dec '24
Feature of English, but not Chinese
Sun, 28 Jul '24
Like the atmosphere after an awkward joke
Thu, 25 Jul '24
Present, for one
Fri, 26 Apr '24
Perfect, e.g.
Tue, 16 Apr '24
Past, present or future
Tue, 2 Apr '24
Like stiff muscles
Fri, 22 Mar '24
The difference between who I was and who I am?
Wed, 22 Mar '23
Anxious
Mon, 2 Jan '23
Present, past or future perfect
Sat, 12 Nov '22
Present, for one
Thu, 3 Nov '22
All wound up
Fri, 1 Jul '22
Wound up
Fri, 1 Apr '22
It may be perfect for writing
Sun, 17 Oct '21
Present, e.g.
Mon, 6 Sep '21
All wound up
Sat, 10 Jul '21
Will can change it
Sun, 13 Jun '21
It may be perfect or simple, but not both