Historical clue formulations

• Lab work — 2026-04-14
• Dips a toe in, say — 2026-03-05
• Puts through the paces — 2025-11-20
• Much Consumer Reports work — 2025-01-24
• Pilots, e.g. — 2024-11-02
• Academic hurdles — 2024-07-22
• Tries, as one's patience — 2024-07-02
• Screens, say — 2024-04-14
• Covid-era purchases — 2024-03-01
• Bits of troubleshooting — 2024-01-21
• Finals, but not semifinals — 2024-01-06
• Exams — 2023-08-07
• Things that might end with "Pencils down!" — 2023-07-03
• Trial runs — 2023-06-05
• Tries out — 2022-04-30
• Battery parts? — 2022-04-03
• Examinations — 2021-11-20
• International cricket matches — 2021-11-12
• Doctor's orders, maybe — 2021-09-05
• They produce results — 2021-05-28
• Trial stages — 2021-01-05
• Takes to the limit, perhaps — 2020-04-22
• Many lab procedures — 2020-03-03
• Trials — 2019-10-13
• Trials and tribulations — 2019-09-24
• Tries — 2019-07-14
• Things to run or pass — 2019-06-06
• Exams — 2019-04-03
• Lab work — 2018-10-03
• Exams — 2017-07-31
• Components of some batteries — 2017-07-26
• Dry runs, e.g. — 2017-06-17
• Things graded by 7-Down — 2017-04-18
• Doctors' orders — 2017-02-26
• Exams — 2017-01-16
• Students may pass them — 2016-09-21
• Assays — 2016-09-08
• Pushes to the limit — 2016-03-12
• Big part of one's final grade, typically — 2016-01-02
• Exams — 2015-09-28
• - — 2015-06-21
• Checks — 2015-04-25
• They sometimes come in batteries — 2015-03-19
• Quizzes — 2014-07-01
• There might be a battery of them — 2014-04-11
• Trials — 2012-05-22
• Exams — 2011-12-12
• Dry runs — 2010-12-28
• Lab jobs — 2010-11-03
• Some cricket matches — 2008-08-08