beard vs mask

beard

noun
  • The cluster of small feathers at the base of the beak in some birds. 

  • The appendages to the jaw in some cetaceans, and to the mouth or jaws of some fishes. 

  • In insects, the hairs of the labial palpi of moths and butterflies. 

  • The gills of some bivalves, such as the oyster. 

  • Long or stiff hairs on a plant; the awn. 

  • The curved underside of an axehead, extending from the lower end of the cutting edge to the axehandle. 

  • A barb or sharp point of an arrow or other instrument, projecting backward to prevent the head from being easily drawn out. 

  • That part of the underside of a horse's lower jaw which is above the chin, and bears the curb of a bridle. 

  • A fake customer or companion, especially a woman who accompanies a gay man, or a man who accompanies a lesbian, in order to give the impression that the person being accompanied is heterosexual. 

  • The byssus of certain shellfish. 

  • Facial hair on the chin, cheeks, jaw and neck. 

verb
  • To boldly and bravely oppose or confront, often to the chagrin of the one being bearded. 

  • To take by the beard; to seize, pluck, or pull the beard of (a man), in anger or contempt. 

  • Of a gay man or woman: to accompany a gay person of the opposite sex in order to give the impression that they are heterosexual. 

  • Of bees, to accumulate together in a beard-like shape. 

  • To deprive (an oyster or similar shellfish) of the gills. 

mask

noun
  • The lower lip of the larva of a dragonfly, modified so as to form a prehensile organ. 

  • The mesh of a net; a net; net-bag. 

  • A cover, or partial cover, for the face, used for disguise or protection. 

  • That which disguises; a pretext or subterfuge. 

  • A person wearing a mask. 

  • A pattern of bits used in bitwise operations; bitmask. 

  • A two-color (black and white) bitmap generated from an image, used to create transparency in the image. 

  • mesh 

  • In a permanent fortification, a redoubt which protects the caponiere. 

  • A festive entertainment of dancing or other diversions, where all wear masks; a masquerade. 

  • Mash. 

  • The head of a fox, shown face-on and cut off immediately behind the ears. 

  • A social phenomenon where autistic people learn, practice, and perform certain behaviors and suppress others in order to appear more neurotypical. 

  • A flat covering used to block off an unwanted portion of a scene or image. 

  • A grotesque head or face, used to adorn keystones and other prominent parts, to spout water in fountains, and the like. 

  • A screen for a battery. 

verb
  • To set or unset (certain bits, or binary digits, within a value) by means of a bitmask. 

  • To bewilder; confuse. 

  • To conceal from view or knowledge; to cover; to hide. 

  • To conceal or disguise one's autism. 

  • To prepare tea in a teapot; alternative to brew. 

  • To disable (an interrupt, etc.) by setting or unsetting the associated bit. 

  • To cover (the face or something else), in order to conceal the identity or protect against injury; to cover with a mask or visor. 

  • To conceal; also, to intervene in the line of. 

  • (brewing) To mix malt with hot water to yield wort. 

  • To take part as a masker in a masquerade. 

  • to cover or shield a part of a design or picture in order to prevent reproduction or to safeguard the surface from the colors used when working with an air brush or painting 

  • To mash. 

  • To disguise as something else. 

  • To cover or keep in check. 

  • To wear a mask. 

  • To be infused or steeped. 

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