A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

RIO

Sat, 23 Aug '25
Mexico's ___ Conchos
Wed, 6 Aug '25
City at the center of "Moonraker," informally
Tue, 5 Aug '25
Kia model whose name references a body of water
Sun, 3 Aug '25
Carnival-themed Vegas hotel
Mon, 16 Jun '25
___ de Janeiro
Thu, 5 Jun '25
"Blame It on ___" (1984 Michael Caine rom-com)
Mon, 19 May '25
Carnaval city
Tue, 29 Apr '25
2011 animated film set in Brazil
Fri, 18 Apr '25
___ Grande
Sat, 1 Mar '25
Subcompact Kia
Sun, 23 Feb '25
Home of the Sugarloaf Cable Car, informally
Wed, 19 Feb '25
2016 Olympics host city, familiarly
Sun, 26 Jan '25
Natural feature between México y Texas
Wed, 23 Oct '24
South America's ___ de la Plata
Thu, 22 Aug '24
Birthplace of bossa nova
Mon, 29 Jul '24
2016 Summer Olympics host, informally
Mon, 8 Jul '24
City that's home to Copacabana Beach, familiarly
Sun, 9 Jun '24
Carnival city
Tue, 4 Jun '24
2016 Olympics host, informally
Sun, 12 May '24
Where Simone Biles won four golds
Thu, 11 Apr '24
Casino that houses the Penn & Teller Theater
Sun, 18 Feb '24
Summer Olympics host between London and Tokyo
Fri, 10 Nov '23
Carnival location
Tue, 7 Nov '23
"Her name is ___ and she dances on the sand" (Duran Duran lyric)
Mon, 28 Aug '23
___ de Janeiro, Brazil
Sun, 2 Jul '23
___ Negro (Amazon tributary)
Tue, 27 Jun '23
Home of Christ the Redeemer, informally
Thu, 20 Apr '23
Capital of Brazil until 1960, informally
Thu, 6 Apr '23
Bravo in the movies?
Mon, 2 Jan '23
___ de Janeiro
Fri, 9 Sep '22
___ Grande
Thu, 25 Aug '22
Home to Maracanã Stadium
Thu, 14 Jul '22
Carnival locale, briefly
Thu, 16 Jun '22
Setting for the memorable cable car scene in "Moonraker"
Wed, 27 Apr '22
2016 Olympics host, informally
Sun, 6 Feb '22
Grande preceder
Wed, 4 Aug '21
Vegas hotel and casino that is the longtime host of the World Series of Poker
Sun, 23 May '21
Summer Olympics host before Tokyo
Sun, 25 Apr '21
Where gymnast Simone Biles won four golds
Sun, 4 Apr '21
Home of the world's largest carnival
Wed, 24 Mar '21
Home to the Christ the Redeemer statue, in brief
Tue, 16 Mar '21
The city in 2002's "City of God"
Tue, 23 Feb '21
___ Grande
Thu, 31 Dec '20
Where swimmer Katie Ledecky won four Olympic golds
Sun, 27 Dec '20
Setting for Hitchcock's "Notorious," informally