breadcrumb vs sliver

breadcrumb

noun
  • A tiny piece of bread, either one that falls from bread as it is cut or eaten, or one made deliberately by crumbling bread. 

  • A single link in a chain indicating the hierarchical location of a directory, web page or similar, used as a navigation aid. 

  • One in a series of clues leading to a person or place. 

verb
  • To add navigational breadcrumbs to (a web page or user interface). 

  • To use clues or enticements to lead someone in the desired direction. 

  • To sprinkle breadcrumbs on to food, normally before cooking. 

sliver

noun
  • A small amount of something; a drop in the bucket; a shred. 

  • A narrow high-rise apartment building. 

  • A strand, or slender roll, of cotton or other fiber in a loose, untwisted state, produced by a carding machine and ready for the roving or slubbing which precedes spinning. 

  • Specifically, a splinter caught under the skin. 

  • A long piece cut or rent off; a sharp, slender fragment; a splinter. 

  • Bait made of pieces of small fish. Compare kibblings. 

verb
  • To cut or divide into long, thin pieces, or into very small pieces; to cut or rend lengthwise; to slit. 

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