carny vs shrewd

carny

noun
  • A person who works in a carnival (often one who uses exaggerated showmanship or fraud). 

  • A person who works in a carnival (often one who uses exaggerated showmanship or fraud). (Australia) 

  • A carnival. 

  • Flattery. 

  • The jargon used by carnival workers. 

verb
  • To cajole, wheedle, or coax. 

shrewd

adj
  • Sharp, snithy, piercing. 

  • Showing clever resourcefulness in practical matters. 

  • Streetwise, street-smart. 

  • Knowledgeable, intelligent, keen. 

  • Nigh accurate. 

  • Artful, tricky or cunning. 

  • Severe, intense, hard. 

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