bowser vs tanker

bowser

noun
  • A road vehicle (often a trailer) for the transport of liquid fuel, particularly aviation fuel at an airfield. 

  • A buffoon or imbecile. 

  • A fuel metering/delivery pump at a filling station. 

  • A mobile water tank deployed to distribute fresh water in emergency situations where the normal system of piped distribution has broken down or is insufficient. 

tanker

noun
  • An aircraft carrying a large supply of jet fuel or avgas for aerial refueling of other aircraft, plus equipment allowing the in-air transfer of fuel. 

  • A tank ship, a vessel used to transport large quantities of liquid. 

  • A longboard. 

  • An aircraft built or modified to carry water and/or fire retardant for dropping on wildfires. 

  • A tank truck. 

  • A fuel tanker, petrol tanker, road tanker. 

  • A tank car. 

  • Member of a tank crew, or of an armoured unit. 

verb
  • To carry more fuel than necessary for a flight, in order to avoid having to refuel at a destination where fuel is more expensive or in short supply. 

  • To transport (oil, etc.) in a tanker. 

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