clutch vs strain

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. 

strain

verb
  • hug somebody; to hold somebody tightly. 

  • To damage by drawing, stretching, or the exertion of force. 

  • To urge with importunity; to press. 

  • To act upon, in any way, so as to cause change of form or volume, as when bending a beam. 

  • To apply a force or forces to by stretching out. 

  • To exert or struggle (to do something), especially to stretch (one's senses, faculties etc.) beyond what is normal or comfortable. 

  • To separate solid from liquid by passing through a strainer or colander 

  • To percolate; to be filtered. 

  • To make uneasy or unnatural; to produce with apparent effort; to force; to constrain. 

  • To stretch beyond its proper limit; to do violence to, in terms of intent or meaning. 

noun
  • The act of straining, or the state of being strained. 

  • Language that is eloquent, poetic, or otherwise heightened. 

  • An injury resulting from violent effort; a sprain. 

  • Any sustained note or movement; a song; a distinct portion of an ode or other poem; also, the pervading note, or burden, of a song, poem, etc. 

  • A dimensionless measure of object deformation either referring to engineering strain or true strain. 

  • A kind or sort (of person etc.). 

  • A particular variety of a microbe, virus, or other organism, usually a taxonomically infraspecific one. 

  • A violent effort; an excessive and hurtful exertion or tension, as of the muscles. 

  • Hereditary character, quality, tendency, or disposition. 

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