apply oneself vs try

apply oneself

verb
  • Synonym of strive: to work hard, to complete an activity with good effort and focus. 

try

verb
  • To attempt; to endeavour. Followed by infinitive. 

  • To test someone's patience. 

  • To put on trial. 

  • To want 

  • To prove by experiment; to apply a test to, for the purpose of determining the quality; to examine; to prove; to test. 

  • To put to test. 

  • To lie to in heavy weather under just sufficient sail to head into the wind. 

  • To receive an imminent attack; to take. 

  • To attempt to determine (by experiment or effort). 

  • To work on something with one's best effort and focus. 

  • To settle; to decide; to determine; specifically, to decide by an appeal to arms. 

  • To attempt to conceive a child. 

  • To strain; to subject to excessive tests. 

  • To taste, sample, etc. 

  • To have or gain knowledge of by experience. 

  • To make an experiment. Usually followed by a present participle. 

noun
  • An attempt. 

  • A score in rugby league and rugby union, analogous to a touchdown in American football. 

  • A move that almost solves a chess problem, except that Black has a unique defense. 

  • An act of tasting or sampling. 

  • A field goal or extra point 

How often have the words apply oneself and try occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )