clutch vs crook

clutch

verb
  • To grip or grasp tightly. 

  • To unexpectedly or luckily succeed in a difficult activity. 

  • To hatch. 

  • To seize, as though with claws. 

  • To win in a 1vX (one versus X) situation. 

adj
  • Performing or tending to perform well in difficult, high-pressure situations. 

noun
  • The claw of a predatory animal or bird. 

  • An important or critical situation. 

  • A brood of chickens or a sitting of eggs. 

  • A device to interrupt power transmission, commonly used to separate the engine and gearbox in a car. 

  • A fastener that attaches to the back of a tack pin to secure an accessory to clothing. (See Clutch (pin fastener).) 

  • A small handbag or purse with no straps or handle. 

  • A group or bunch (of people or things). 

  • Any device for gripping an object, as at the end of a chain or tackle. 

  • A grip, especially one seen as rapacious or evil. 

  • The pedal in a car that disengages power and torque transmission from the engine (through the drivetrain) to the drive wheels. 

  • A difficult maneuver 

crook

verb
  • To become bent or hooked. 

  • To turn from the path of rectitude; to pervert; to misapply; to twist. 

  • To bend, or form into a hook. 

noun
  • A small tube, usually curved, applied to a trumpet, horn, etc., to change its pitch or key. 

  • A pothook. 

  • A bent or curved part; a curving piece or portion (of anything). 

  • A bishop's standard staff of office. 

  • A bend; turn; curve; curvature; a flexure. 

  • An artifice; a trick; a contrivance. 

  • A person who steals, lies, cheats or does other dishonest or illegal things; a criminal. 

  • A specialized staff with a semi-circular bend (a "hook") at one end used by shepherds to control their herds. 

  • A bending of the knee; a genuflection. 

adj
  • Ill, sick. 

  • Bad, unsatisfactory, not up to standard. 

  • Annoyed, angry; upset. 

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