broadside vs flank

broadside

verb
  • To collide with something side-on. 

noun
  • The printed lyrics of a folk song or ballad; a broadsheet. 

  • A forceful attack, be it written or spoken. 

  • One side of a ship above the water line; all the guns on one side of a warship; their simultaneous firing. 

  • A large sheet of paper, printed on one side and folded. 

adv
  • Sideways; with the side turned to the direction of some object. 

flank

verb
  • To place to the side(s) of. 

  • To be placed to the side(s) of something (usually in terms of two objects, one on each side). 

  • To defend the flank(s) of. 

  • To attack the flank(s) of. 

noun
  • The flesh between the last rib and the hip; the side. 

  • The sides of a bastion perpendicular to the wall from which the bastion projects. 

  • The outermost strip of a road. 

  • The wing, one side of the pitch. 

  • That part of the acting surface of a gear wheel tooth that lies within the pitch line. 

  • A cut of meat from the flank of an animal. 

  • The side of something, in general senses. 

  • The extreme left or right edge of a military formation, army etc. 

adj
  • Maximum. Historically faster than full speed (the most a vessel can sustain without excessive engine wear or risk of damage), now frequently used interchangeably. Typically used in an emergency or during an attack. 

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