A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

OBOE

Thu, 10 Jul '25
Heckelphone relative
Thu, 12 Jun '25
Orchestra tuner
Wed, 23 Apr '25
Instrument whose name is 75% vowels
Mon, 17 Mar '25
Double-reed woodwind
Wed, 22 Jan '25
Thin woodwind
Mon, 6 Jan '25
Cousin of a clarinet
Sun, 5 Jan '25
Prominent instrument in Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" and Sonny and Cher's "I Got You Babe"
Mon, 4 Nov '24
Double-reed woodwind
Tue, 10 Sep '24
Orchestra woodwind
Sat, 7 Sep '24
Relative of a heckelphone
Thu, 8 Aug '24
Orchestra tuner
Sun, 2 Jun '24
Instrument with a vowel-heavy name
Mon, 6 May '24
Orchestra woodwind
Wed, 17 Apr '24
Orchestra part
Wed, 13 Mar '24
"O," in W.W. II radio lingo
Mon, 12 Feb '24
Long, cylindrical instrument
Thu, 1 Feb '24
Instrument with a bell
Fri, 10 Nov '23
Hautbois, en anglais
Thu, 2 Nov '23
Thin woodwind
Sun, 22 Oct '23
Relative of a musette
Mon, 16 Oct '23
Orchestra woodwind
Sun, 8 Oct '23
It has 45 keys
Wed, 30 Aug '23
her prized ___.
Tue, 25 Jul '23
Instrument sometimes confused with a clarinet
Thu, 13 Jul '23
A woodwind
Thu, 1 Jun '23
Relative of a cor anglais
Sun, 14 May '23
It "sounds like a clarinet with a cold," per Victor Borge
Sun, 7 May '23
Instrument in Joan Tower's "Island Prelude"
Fri, 14 Apr '23
Heckelphone relative
Tue, 28 Mar '23
Orchestra-tuning instrument
Wed, 22 Mar '23
Instrument prominently heard in both Seal's "Kiss From a Rose" and Sonny & Cher's "I Got You Babe"
Sat, 28 Jan '23
Cousin of the Spanish chirimía or Italian piffero
Wed, 21 Dec '22
The duck in "Peter and the Wolf"
Sun, 4 Dec '22
It's used to tune an orchestra
Sun, 20 Nov '22
High wind
Tue, 13 Sep '22
Reedy woodwind
Thu, 28 Jul '22
Instrument with a bell
Tue, 5 Jul '22
Orchestral instrument with a bell key
Wed, 29 Jun '22
Relative of a cor anglais
Thu, 26 May '22
Light wind?
Tue, 26 Apr '22
Cousin of a bassoon
Mon, 21 Mar '22
Reedy wind instrument
Sun, 20 Mar '22
Word from the French for "high wood"
Sun, 6 Mar '22
It's blown in the winds
Sun, 6 Feb '22
The "quail" in Beethoven's "Pastoral" Symphony
Thu, 9 Dec '21
The duck, in "Peter and the Wolf"
Sun, 28 Nov '21
Instrument with a solo in Seal's "Kiss From a Rose"
Wed, 18 Aug '21
Instrument played by indie rock's Sufjan Stevens
Fri, 13 Aug '21
Wind with a three-octave range
Tue, 27 Jul '21
Strauss's "Concerto in D Major for ___ and Small Orchestra"
Tue, 22 Jun '21
Instrument that an orchestra tunes to
Wed, 14 Apr '21
Double-reeded aerophone with keys
Sun, 4 Apr '21
Instrument with a flared end
Fri, 19 Mar '21
Wind up on the pitch?
Fri, 12 Mar '21
One with a solo in Brahms's Symphony No. 1
Wed, 17 Feb '21
Relative of a cor anglais