checkered vs harlequin

checkered

adj
  • Divided into squares, or into light and dark patches. 

  • Changeable; inconsistent; having variations or uncertainty; marked by many problems or failures. 

harlequin

adj
  • Of a greenish-chartreuse color. 

  • Brightly colored, especially in a pattern like that of a harlequin clown's clothes. 

verb
  • To make sport by playing ludicrous tricks. 

  • To remove or conjure away, as if by a harlequin's trick. 

noun
  • A greenish-chartreuse color. 

  • A pantomime fool, typically dressed in colorful checkered clothes. 

  • A harlequin duck. 

  • Any of various riodinid butterflies of the genera Taxila and Praetaxila. 

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