beg vs cross one's fingers

beg

verb
  • To plead with someone for help, a favor, etc.; to entreat. 

  • In the phrase beg the question: to assume. 

  • To request the help of someone, often in the form of money. 

  • To unwillingly provoke a negative, often violent, reaction. 

  • In the phrase beg the question: to raise (a question). 

noun
  • A provincial governor under the Ottoman Empire; a bey. 

  • The act of begging; an imploring request. 

cross one's fingers

verb
  • when telling a lie (and attempting to escape the moral and other consequence of that lie). 

  • To put the middle finger across the index finger, especially 

  • when wishing for luck, or 

How often have the words beg and cross one's fingers occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )