blind alley vs tight spot

blind alley

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

  • A course of inquiry that leads nowhere. 

tight spot

noun
  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see tight, spot. 

  • A difficult position. 

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