cleaver vs cudgel

cleaver

noun
  • A squarish, heavy knife used by butchers for hacking through bones, etc. 

  • A type of clave, or rhythm stick, a concussive musical instrument used in traditional Bahamian music. 

  • The act of eliminating someone or something, especially when done by someone with a history of other eliminations; a dismissal, rejection, or removal. 

cudgel

noun
  • A short heavy club with a rounded head used as a weapon. 

  • Anything that can be used as a threat to force one's will on another. 

verb
  • To strike with a cudgel. 

  • To exercise (one's wits or brains). 

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