bate vs draw a line in the sand

bate

verb
  • To contend or strive with blows or arguments. 

  • To deprive of. 

  • To restrain, usually with the sense of being in anticipation 

  • To soak leather so as to remove chemicals used in tanning; to steep in bate. 

  • To masturbate. 

  • To waste away. 

  • To allow by way of abatement or deduction. 

  • To reduce the force of something; to abate. 

  • To cut off, remove, take away. 

  • To lessen by retrenching, deducting, or reducing; to abate; to beat down; to lower. 

  • Of a falcon: To flap the wings vigorously; to bait. 

noun
  • Strife; contention. 

  • An alkaline lye which neutralizes the effect of the previous application of lime, and makes hides supple in the process of tanning. 

  • A vat which contains this liquid. 

draw a line in the sand

verb
  • To lay down a challenge; to provide a test of commitment (often one which carries a high risk) to a cause. 

  • To create a real or artificial boundary or distinction between (two places, people or things). 

  • To indicate the threshold or level above which something will become unacceptable or will provoke a response; to create a boundary and imply or declare that its crossing will provoke a (negative) response. 

How often have the words bate and draw a line in the sand occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )