clutch vs nip

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 

nip

verb
  • To squeeze or pinch. 

  • To annoy, as by nipping. 

  • To make a quick, short journey or errand, usually a round trip. 

  • To blast, as by frost; to check the growth or vigor of; to destroy. 

  • To catch and enclose or compress tightly between two surfaces, or points which are brought together or closed; to pinch; to close in upon. 

  • To taunt. 

  • To benumb [e.g., cheeks, fingers, nose] by severe cold. 

  • To remove by pinching, biting, or cutting with two meeting edges of anything; to clip. 

noun
  • A hamburger. 

  • A more or less gradual thinning out of a stratum. 

  • Briskly cold weather. 

  • A playful bite. 

  • A small cut, or a cutting off the end. 

  • A small quantity of something edible or a potable liquor. 

  • A nipple, usually of a woman. 

  • A pinch with the nails or teeth. 

  • A seizing or closing in upon; a pinching 

  • A blast; a killing of the ends of plants by frost. 

  • A short turn in a rope. 

  • The place of intersection where one roll touches another 

  • A biting sarcasm; a taunt. 

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