clutch vs prize

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. 

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 

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

prize

verb
  • To move with a lever; to force up or open; to prise or pry. 

  • To consider highly valuable; to esteem. 

noun
  • That which is taken from another; something captured; a thing seized by force, stratagem, or superior power. 

  • Anything worth striving for; a valuable possession held or in prospect. 

  • A lever; a pry; also, the hold of a lever. 

  • An honour or reward striven for in a competitive contest; anything offered to be competed for, or as an inducement to, or reward of, effort. 

  • Anything captured by a belligerent using the rights of war; especially, property captured at sea in virtue of the rights of war, as a vessel. 

  • That which may be won by chance, as in a lottery. 

adj
  • Having won a prize; award-winning. 

  • First-rate; exceptional. 

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