clout vs paddle

clout

noun
  • A blow with the hand. 

  • A clout nail. 

  • The center of the butt at which archers shoot; probably once a piece of white cloth or a nail head. 

  • Influence or effectiveness, especially political. 

  • A home run. 

verb
  • To cover with cloth, leather, or other material; to bandage, patch, or mend with a clout. 

  • To stud with nails, as a timber, or a boot sole. 

  • To guard with an iron plate, as an axletree. 

  • To hit, especially with the fist. 

  • To join or patch clumsily. 

paddle

noun
  • A person's hand. 

  • The use of a paddle to propel a boat; a session of paddling. 

  • A broad, flat device used in striking the ball, analogous to a racket in tennis. 

  • A blade of a waterwheel. 

  • A flap of attached skin that has been cut away from a wound. 

  • A broad, flat spanking implement. 

  • A double-bladed version with blades at each end of the shaft is used for kayaking. 

  • A handheld electrode used for defibrillation or cardioversion. 

  • In a sluice, a panel that controls the flow of water. 

  • A paddlewheel. 

  • A flat limb of an aquatic animal, adapted for swimming. 

  • A slat of a paddleboat's wheel. 

  • A meandering walk or dabble through shallow water, especially at the seaside. 

  • A flat board with a number of holes or indentations, used to carry small alcoholic drinks such as shots. 

  • A single-bladed version is typically used on canoes and some other small boats. 

  • A kitchen utensil shaped like a paddle and used for mixing, beating etc. 

verb
  • To row a boat with less than one's full capacity. 

  • To toddle. 

  • To spank with a paddle. 

  • To propel something through water with a paddle, oar, hands, etc. 

  • To pat or stroke amorously or gently. 

  • To tread upon; to trample. 

  • To walk or dabble playfully in shallow water, especially at the seaside. 

  • To dog paddle in water. 

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