blind alley vs stalemate

blind alley

noun
  • A course of inquiry that leads nowhere. 

  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see blind, alley. A street or passageway that leads nowhere. 

stalemate

noun
  • Any kind of match in which neither contestant laid claim to victory; a draw. 

  • Any situation that has no obvious possible movement, but involves no personal loss. 

  • The state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves, resulting in a draw. 

verb
  • To bring about a state in which the player to move is not in check but has no legal moves. 

  • To bring about a stalemate, in which no advance in an argument is achieved. 

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