A History of Short Words

From the New York Times Crossword Puzzle

SWIM

Fri, 16 Feb '24
Compete in a freestyle, e.g.
Sat, 16 Jul '22
Get in the ___
Mon, 14 Mar '22
Do the breaststroke, e.g.
Fri, 11 Mar '22
Get in the ___
Thu, 22 Jul '21
Compete in a Summer Olympics event