contrivance vs plot

contrivance

noun
  • A means, such as an elaborate plan or strategy, to accomplish a certain objective. 

  • Something overly artful or artificial. 

  • A (mechanical) device to perform a certain task. 

plot

noun
  • A plan; a purpose. 

  • An area or land used for building on or planting on. 

  • A graph or diagram drawn by hand or produced by a mechanical or electronic device. 

  • Participation in any stratagem or conspiracy. 

  • Contrivance; deep reach thought; ability to plot or intrigue. 

  • Attractive physical attributes of characters involved in a story, originating from ironic juxtaposition with the original meaning (course of the story). 

  • A secret plan to achieve an end, the end or means usually being illegal or otherwise questionable. 

  • The course of a story, comprising a series of incidents which are gradually unfolded, sometimes by unexpected means. 

verb
  • To mark (a point on a graph, chart, etc). 

  • To conceive (a crime, misdeed etc). 

  • To trace out (a graph or diagram). 

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