better than nothing vs mediocre

better than nothing

adj
  • Barely useful; almost worthless or pointless, but nevertheless better than having nothing at all. 

mediocre

adj
  • Having no peculiar or outstanding features; not extraordinary, special, exceptional, or great; of medium quality, almost always with a negative connotation. 

noun
  • A person of minor significance, accomplishment or acclaim; a common and undistinguished person. 

  • A member of a socioeconomic class between the upper ranks of society and the agricultural workers. 

How often have the words better than nothing and mediocre occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )