broken record vs rote

broken record

noun
  • Used other than figuratively or idiomatically: see broken, record. 

  • Someone or something that constantly repeats itself, causing annoyance. 

rote

noun
  • Synonym of crowd. 

  • A kind of guitar, the notes of which were produced by a small wheel or wheel-like arrangement; an instrument similar to the hurdy-gurdy. 

  • Mechanical routine; a fixed, habitual, repetitive, or mechanical course of procedure. 

  • The roar of the surf; the sound of waves breaking on the shore. 

verb
  • To learn or repeat by rote. 

adj
  • By repetition or practice. 

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