beak vs nail

beak

noun
  • A rigid structure projecting from the front of a bird's face, used for pecking, grooming, foraging, carrying items, eating food, etc. 

  • Any of various nymphalid butterflies of the genus Libythea, notable for the beak-like elongation on their heads. 

  • A schoolmaster (originally, at Eton). 

  • The human nose, especially one that is large and pointed. 

  • That part of a ship, before the forecastle, which is fastened to the stem, and supported by the main knee. 

  • A similar structure forming the jaws of an octopus, turtle, etc. 

  • A justice of the peace; a magistrate. 

  • The upper or projecting part of the shell, near the hinge of a bivalve. 

  • The prolongation of certain univalve shells containing the canal. 

  • The long projecting sucking mouth of some insects and other invertebrates, as in the Hemiptera. 

  • A toe clip. 

  • A beam, shod or armed at the end with a metal head or point, and projecting from the prow of an ancient galley, used as a ram to pierce the vessel of an enemy; a beakhead. 

  • cocaine. 

  • Any process somewhat like the beak of a bird, terminating the fruit or other parts of a plant. 

  • Anything projecting or ending in a point like a beak, such as a promontory of land. 

  • A continuous slight projection ending in an arris or narrow fillet; that part of a drip from which the water is thrown off. 

verb
  • To play truant. 

  • Seize with the beak. 

  • Strike with the beak. 

nail

noun
  • The claw of a bird or other animal. 

  • A spike-shaped metal fastener used for joining wood or similar materials. The nail is generally driven through two or more layers of material by means of impacts from a hammer or other device. It is then held in place by friction. 

  • The terminal horny plate on the beak of ducks, and other allied birds. 

  • The basal thickened portion of the anterior wings of certain hemiptera. 

  • A round pedestal on which merchants once carried out their business, such as the four nails outside The Exchange, Bristol. 

  • An archaic English unit of length equivalent to ¹⁄₂₀ of an ell or ¹⁄₁₆ of a yard (2+¹⁄₄ inches or 5.715 cm). 

  • The thin, horny plate at the ends of fingers and toes on humans and some other animals. 

verb
  • To stud or boss with nails, or as if with nails. 

  • To expose as a sham. 

  • To catch. 

  • Of a male, to engage in sexual intercourse with. 

  • To spike, as a cannon. 

  • To hit (a target) effectively with some weapon. 

  • To accomplish (a task) completely and successfully. 

  • To fix (an object) to another object using a nail. 

  • To drive a nail. 

  • To nail down: to make certain, or confirm. 

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