but maintenance gets hard when they aren't evocative.

Not so.

Did you ever see music annotated with: "This_is_the_second_demi_semi_quavar_in_the_third_bar_of_fifth_stanza" (*).

Or a resistor on a circuit diagram annotated: "This_is_the_470_ohmm_resistor_that_impedance_matches_the_output_of_the_third_stage_amplification_to_the_fourth_stage_feed_back_loop". (**)

(*)I've no idea if that makes sense, but a musician would.

(**)Ditto; but an electronics engineer would.

Short variable names in context are just as clear to the maintanence programmer, and often more so, than long, overly descriptive ones--if the programmer has familiarised themselves with the purpose of the routine of which they are a part.

And if he hasn't, he should not be maintaining the code.