A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

ERST

Sat, 27 Jul '24
Formerly, in the past
Mon, 1 Apr '24
Quaint lead-in to while
Mon, 17 Jul '23
Once, once
Sat, 30 Jul '22
Once, once
Thu, 3 Mar '22
Formerly, once
Tue, 22 Feb '22
Lead-in to while
Sat, 28 Aug '21
Long ago, long ago