backstair vs subway

backstair

noun
  • The backstairs (stairs at the rear of a building). 

adj
  • clandestine, secret or furtive 

subway

noun
  • An underground walkway, tunnel for pedestrians (called pedestrian underpass in US). 

  • An underground route for pipes, sewers, etc. 

  • A rapid transit system, regardless of the elevation of its right of way; a metro system. 

  • An underground railway, especially for mass transit of people in urban areas. 

  • A train that runs on such an underground railway. 

verb
  • To travel by underground railway. 

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