cornflower vs pincushion

cornflower

noun
  • A plant of the species Cichorium intybus. 

  • Cornflower blue. 

  • A small annual plant in the family Asteraceae, Centaurea cyanus, usually with bushy blue flowers which grows natively in European cornfields (i.e. wheatfields). 

adj
  • Of a blue colour, as that of the cornflower; cornflower blue. 

pincushion

noun
  • A flowering plant in the genus Leucospermum. 

  • The pincushionplant, a flowering plant in the genus Navarretia. 

  • A device, originally like a small, stuffed cushion, designed to have sewing pins and needles stuck into it to store them safely; some modern pincushions hold the objects magnetically. 

  • The dustymaiden, a flowering plant in the genus Chaenactis. 

  • A person who is pricked or stabbed multiple times with sharp objects; specifically, someone who receives regular hypodermic needle injections. 

  • The coral bead plant, coral moss, or English baby tears (Nertera granadensis), an ornamental plant. 

  • A flowering plant in the genus Scabiosa. 

  • The pincushion cactus, of the genera Escobaria or Mammillaria. 

verb
  • To jab or stick repeatedly with one or more sharp objects, as with pins into a pincushion. 

  • To assume the shape of a pincushion; specifically, of the image on a computer display, television, etc., to exhibit pincushion distortion, where the sides curve inwards. 

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