characteristic vs trick

characteristic

noun
  • A distinguishing feature of a person or thing. 

  • For a given field or ring, a natural number that is either the smallest positive number n such that n instances of the multiplicative identity (1) summed together yield the additive identity (0) or, if no such number exists, the number 0. 

  • The integer part of a logarithm. 

  • The distinguishing features of a navigational light on a lighthouse etc by which it can be identified (colour, pattern of flashes etc.). 

adj
  • Being a distinguishing feature of a person or thing. 

trick

noun
  • A toy; a trifle; a plaything. 

  • A sex act, chiefly one performed for payment; an act of prostitution. 

  • A daily period of work, especially in shift-based jobs. 

  • Something designed to fool or swindle. 

  • A term of abuse. 

  • A knot, braid, or plait of hair. 

  • A sequence in which each player plays a card and a winning play is determined. 

  • A customer or client of a prostitute. 

  • A single element of a magician's (or any variety entertainer's) act; a magic trick. 

  • An effective, clever or quick way of doing something. 

  • A sailor's spell of work at the helm, usually two hours long. 

  • Mischievous or annoying behavior; a prank. 

  • An entertaining difficult physical action. 

verb
  • To dress; to decorate; to adorn fantastically; often followed by up, off, or out. 

  • To fool; to cause to believe something untrue; to deceive. 

  • To draw (as opposed to blazon - to describe in words). 

adj
  • Defective or unreliable. 

  • Involving trickery or deception. 

  • Stylish or cool. 

  • Able to perform tricks. 

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