by the yard vs universal

by the yard

universal

noun
  • A characteristic or property that particular things have in common. 

adj
  • Useful for many purposes; all-purpose. 

  • Unlimited; vast; infinite. 

  • Common to all members of a group or class. 

  • Of or pertaining to the universe. 

  • Common to all society; worldwide. 

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