cease and desist vs nip in the bud

cease and desist

verb
  • To stop and not resume an action. 

noun
  • A demand that one stop and not resume continuing a certain behavior, such as copyright infringement, trademark infringement, slander, or libel. 

nip in the bud

verb
  • To stop (something) at an early stage. 

  • To remove a bud [from a plant] to prevent flower and fruit from forming. 

How often have the words cease and desist and nip in the bud occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )