beast of prey vs ruffian

beast of prey

noun
  • A predatory person, savagely cruel and ruthless in their treatment of others. 

  • A carnivorous animal that hunts for its food, especially one that preys on vertebrates. 

ruffian

noun
  • A scoundrel, rascal, or unprincipled, deceitful, brutal and unreliable person. 

verb
  • To play the ruffian; to rage; to raise tumult. 

adj
  • Brutal; cruel; savagely boisterous; murderous. 

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