coon vs shovel

coon

verb
  • To traverse by crawling, as a ledge. 

  • To crawl while straddling, especially in crossing a creek. 

  • To fish by noodling, by feeling for large fish in underwater holes. 

  • To play the dated stereotype of a black fool for an audience, particularly including Caucasians. 

  • To hunt raccoons. 

noun
  • A member of a colorfully dressed dance troupe in Cape Town during New Year celebrations. 

  • A black person who "plays the coon"; that is, who plays the dated stereotype of a black fool for an audience, particularly including Caucasians. 

  • A coonass; a white Acadian French person who lives in the swamps. 

  • A raccoon. 

  • A black person. 

shovel

verb
  • To move with a shoveling motion. 

  • To move materials with a shovel. 

noun
  • A mechanical part of an excavator with a similar function. 

  • A spade. 

  • A hand tool with a handle, used for moving portions of material such as earth, snow, and grain from one place to another, with some forms also used for digging. Not to be confused with a spade, which is designed solely for small-scale digging and incidental tasks such as chopping of small roots. 

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