choke out vs snuff

choke out

verb
  • To extinguish (fire) (by depriving it of oxygen or fuel). 

  • To cause (a person) to lose consciousness by applying a chokehold. 

  • To say (something) with difficulty, while or as if choking. 

  • To destroy (something) by depriving it of a vital resource. 

  • To prevent (light) from passing through. 

  • To prevent (something) from growing by overwhelming it or robbing it of nutrients. 

snuff

verb
  • To extinguish a candle or oil-lamp flame by covering the burning end of the wick until the flame is suffocated. 

  • To snuff out; to extinguish; to put out; to kill. 

  • To inhale through the nose. 

  • To turn up the nose and inhale air, as an expression of contempt; hence, to take offence. 

noun
  • A form of pornographic film which involves someone actually being murdered. 

  • Fine-ground or minced tobacco, dry or moistened, intended for use by placing a pinch behind the lip or beneath the tongue; see also snus. 

  • Finely ground or pulverized tobacco intended for use by being sniffed or snorted into the nose. 

  • A murder. 

  • The act of briskly inhaling by the nose; a sniff, a snort. 

  • The burning part of a candle wick, or the black, burnt remains of a wick (which must be periodically removed). 

  • Resentment or skepticism expressed by quickly drawing air through the nose; snuffling; sniffling. 

  • A snort or sniff of fine-ground, powdered, or pulverized tobacco. 

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